As I feared would happen, it began raining shortly before the scheduled beginning of the Hash.

The good news is that the rain stopped about the time I arrived and that it hadn’t rained hard enough to wash away the powder trail markings. I gave my instructions to the group and sent them on their way.

Here are a few photos from the Hash trail:

Feedback on the trail was mostly positive; the biggest complaint was that it was too short (about 4.5K). The trail markings withstood the deluge, and no one got lost. So, I’d rate it a successful day overall.

I started drinking a little after two, continued drinking throughout the circle, and went with the group to It Doesn’t Matter at the conclusion of the Hash. I’d had more beer than I needed by seven p.m. and was home and in bed by eight. Quite a day!

It appears there is a storm a-brewin’, and more wet weather is forecast for this week.

Got some special plans for today. Grocery shopping, then Swan will join me on an excursion to the mall to assist in my search for some new hiking shoes. Then this evening, Swan will cook for me for the first time, and I’ll do my beer drinking at her place. Looking forward to getting a taste of the domestic lifestyle I’ve been craving!

Just in case I don’t make it back in time to blog at the usual time today, I’ll briefly fill that void now.

I’m one of the Hares for today’s Hash trail. Rain is in the forecast, so we have to make a decision on whether to do the planned off-road hilly hike or stick to the flat pavement. We’ll meet up at 0900 and make the call then.

Nothing significant to report from my night out on the town yesterday.

A couple of beers (and lady drinks) at It Doesn’t Matter, then finished my night at Wet Spot. I was feeling no pain when I caught the trike for home.

Up on schedule this morning. Did my internet “work” and kitchen duties.

So, I may be back later with a weather report and any other updates between now and then. Or it could be tomorrow morning. Here’s a poem to tide you over:

The Ideal Husband To His Wife

We've lived for forty years, dear wife,
  And walked together side by side,
And you to-day are just as dear
  As when you were my bride.
I've tried to make life glad for you,
  One long, sweet honeymoon of joy,
A dream of marital content,
  Without the least alloy.
I've smoothed all boulders from our path,
  That we in peace might toil along,
By always hastening to admit
  That I was right and you were wrong.

No mad diversity of creed
  Has ever sundered me from thee;
For I permit you evermore
  To borrow your ideas of me.
And thus it is, through weal or woe,
  Our love forevermore endures;
For I permit that you should take
  My views and creeds, and make them yours.
And thus I let you have my way,
  And thus in peace we toil along,
For I am willing to admit
  That I am right and you are wrong.

And when our matrimonial skiff
  Strikes snags in love's meandering stream,
I lift our shallop from the rocks,
  And float as in a placid dream.
And well I know our marriage bliss
  While life shall last will never cease;
For I shall always let thee do,
  In generous love, just what I please.
Peace comes, and discord flies away,
  Love's bright day follows hatred's night;
For I am ready to admit
  That you are wrong and I am right.

--Sam Walter Foss

As I walked out in the streets of Barretto
As I walked out for the Hash yesterday
The raindrops were falling but that didn't stop me
I marched on to the On-Home that was so far away

Oh walk ahead briskly or move along slowly
Open the umbrella and hold on so strong
It doesn't matter if it's raining or sunny
Cold beer is awaiting so you can't go wrong

With apologies to whoever it was who wrote “Streets of Laredo.” My lyric writing is almost as good as my joke-telling.

Anyway, the Hash ethos dictates that we go out and do our thing every Monday, rain or shine. Now, that doesn’t mean accommodation for the weather doesn’t occur. Yesterday’s Hares, Leech My Nuggets and Bug Fucker, laid a flat trail and stayed on the paved streets of Barretto for the most part (there was a bit on the beach, too). The rain was light for the most part, and the wind wasn’t as bad as it had been, so that helped. I honestly found the hike almost pleasant as I was free from the worry of slipping, sliding, or falling down some steep embankment. And that cold beer was waiting at our On-Home venue, Blue Butterfly.

It was a nice Hash run despite the foul weather. After the Hash, some of us gathered at It Doesn’t Matter for some more imbibing. I got a banana split to go from Sit-n-Bull to take home with me, and it was masarap!

I covered the unfortunate passing of Rex Lewis in yesterday’s post, and today that story made the news. The biggest surprise for me was that Rex was only 57. He was frail and sickly, so I had him pegged as being older than me. This photo is also featured in the news article I linked:

A good man gone too soon.

On a lighter note, there is this:

I’m no expert on commas, but I know better than to misuse a colon like this:

Alright, that’s all for today. I’ll leave you with some Marty Robbins for your listening enjoyment (it’s only two and a half minutes, so suck it up and enjoy some old-school country western music that I grew up on courtesy of my father).

UPDATE: The most egregious errors noted in the comments have now been corrected. Thanks, Mr. Kim.

Yesterday’s Hash was refreshing in its easiness–a mostly flat 4.5K walk on the streets and beaches of Barretto, Baloy, and Matain. It even featured a refreshing beer stop at Laharny’z on Baloy. On-Home was at the Smokes and Bottles resto-bar, a pleasant venue in Matain.

After the Hash, I enjoyed some additional adult beverages at Snackbar, then took a trike back home. Had some chat with my sweetie Swan (who has zero interest in Hashing) and then hit the hay. The power went out around 4 a.m., and I woke up a sweaty mess. But the day has gone better since.

More on today, tomorrow.

Welp, another milestone in my Hashing career–my first-ever journey with the Manila Hash House Harriers. They were here in Barretto for an outstation run, and several of us Subic Hashers joined in the fun. In fact, the Hare was none other than Leech My Nuggets, who, unbeknownst to me, used to Hash in Manila back in the day. There were two trail options, long and short, and being the old fat fucker that I am, I opted for the short. A tad over 3K all in and covering a familiar portion of the My Bitch trail.

You can Relive the hike here if you are so inclined:

So, one interesting aspect of Hashing with an out-of-town group is observing their Hash circle rituals. Manila doesn’t do the ice thing but has other tools of humiliation to impose punishment. Some of the things they did struck me as a tad gay (not that there is anything wrong with it):

It was a good Hash, though, and I enjoyed the experience. Plus, I got a nifty new Hash shirt!

One more Hash to add to my participation list:

• Subic Bay H3 (my mother Hash)
• Humphreys Hangover H3 (the Hash that named me in Pyeongtaek)
• Angeles City H3
• Corona H3 (also in Angeles City)
• La Union H3 (I’ve done several with them, including the Valentine’s Hash in Baguio)
• Pattaya H3
• Pattaya Jungle H3
• Manila H3

I titled this post Milli Vanilli as a kind of play on the Manila name and some of the Hash group’s effeminate rituals (oh, I forgot to mention, this is an exclusively male group, no women allowed). I was never a fan of the Milli Vanilli singing duo and had actually forgotten about their lip-synching scandal, and it’s tragic outcome for one of the singers. No offense intended!

Doing the short trail meant I started drinking early (in Subic, the free beer doesn’t flow until 3:30) and the Manila Hash circle seemed inordinately long, which of course, required additional beers to pass the time. I was buzzing when it was finally over, but that didn’t stop me from paying a visit to Cheap Charlies. Hey, it wasn’t even six o’clock yet on a Saturday night!

A couple more beers (and lady drinks, of course) later, I crossed the highway for a nightcap at Wet Spot. I stayed longer than I intended because the owner Daddy Dave was there, and we had some catching up to do. It turned out to be a nice evening on the town.

In other news, I looked at a potential house rental yesterday. It’s actually where Swan was living with her significant other, but she needs to move out now that he’s gone.

Some negotiations are to come with the landlord. I need to pay six months’ advance rent to pay for the work that needs to be done. I’m okay with that as long as I have a good lease agreement to protect my investment. Hope it all works out.

The Sunday feeding at Hideaway is the next item on my agenda. We’ll see what happens after that.

I almost skipped yesterday’s Hash. The fact that the trail started way out near the top of Rizal Extension was one pain in the ass factor. The On-Home was at the private residence of Malibog Mountain Momma, which is also off the beaten path at the end of Rizal Extension and meant my drunken stumble home after the Hash would be more perilous than usual (trikes that far out are few and far between). But Pubic Head suggested we do a “sane” trail that started in Alta Vista and avoided the main ups and downs of the Hare’s intended path. So, that’s what we did.

At the conclusion of the Hash circle, I began the long trek down Rizal Extension into town. Luck was with me, though, and an empty trike appeared before I had logged a kilometer.

And so ended another Hash Monday.

What’s in store for tonight?

I didn’t do the Hare’s trail yesterday. I didn’t like the hassle of getting to the start way up on Rizal Extension, and I don’t like the Hare or his shitty trails. So, I made my own way. Ashley asked where the trail began, and I gave her the option to join me. She agreed and brought her friend Rose along. They arrived in time for some lunch before our hike.

So, when I cleared the table to serve lunch, I moved my empty box of nebulizer juice to the kitchen counter and put 500 pesos underneath it so my helper could buy more at the drugstore. While enjoying my after Hash beers at Blue Butterfly, my helper sent me a message asking where the 500 pesos went. Yep, apparently, one of my guests decided to help herself to the money. I was both pissed and disappointed. When confronted, they both denied being a thief.

After I got home last night, Ashley messaged me. She didn’t exactly implicate her friend, but she did note that Rose was the last one out of the house when we left for the hike. I also recalled that during lunch, Rose had asked me out of the blue whether I had CCTV. That seemed suspicious then and even more so now. I asked how long Ashley had known Rose, and they met at work a few months ago. Anyway, I suspect Rose is the culprit, but I don’t trust either of them now. Lesson learned for a relatively small amount of money.

My plan for the hike was to do the My Bitch trail and then circle around on the backstreets to the On-Home venue. A couple of kilometers into my hike, I ran into the “sane” Hash group going in the opposite direction. My group joined forces with theirs, and we finished the Hash together. This did require a retreat and retracing of steps in the opposite direction, but no big deal.

Olivia wasn’t around, but I did get to say hello to her daughter Jennifer (mother of those kids above). Pubic Head (Scott) posted these photos of Jennifer today:

Drank my fill of beer, got some takeout food from Sit-n-Bull, then watched a couple more episodes of Lucifer at home. A bit of a roller coaster ride emotionally but live and learn.

It’s been said that flattery gets you nowhere, but yesterday at least, it made for a mostly level Hash trail. It wasn’t so much an aversion to hills; there just weren’t any around in the part of San Antonio we visited. Still, we laid a long (10K) trail with a 6K option for those who don’t like too much of a good thing. Most of the hike was through farmland (primarily rice and corn), but it was in an area that hadn’t been Hashed in years, so it was new to almost everyone in attendance.

The On-Home was at the FRA, a venue I always enjoy when I visit. It’s always nice to get out of town for a change of pace. Here’s how it all went down:

We returned to the FRA at noon, and the bus from Barretto arrived at 12:30.

All in all, a good day, even if we didn’t get too high. I finished my trail marking responsibilities around noon, so I naturally started downing the San Miguel Zeros. We finished around five, and I was definitely done. I went straight home and spent some time with the devil.

Maybe it’s all about survival of the fattest, but I made it through another Hash alive yesterday. The weather has been hotter than normal, and it was a roasting 95 degrees as we started our trek. To make matters worse, I walked the 2K from my house to the start of the trail, and on the way, my left knee started its tingly numbness BS again. By the time I arrived at the meet-up location, I had pretty much decided I’d be making my own trail on the streets. I was just too paranoid to get up into the hills and have the knee give way again. Turns out, making my own way wasn’t necessary. The Hare, Fireman, had provided two trails to choose from. That’s not unusual; there is usually a long and short option (sometimes called hard and easy). Yesterday, Fireman gave us an “eagle” trail and a “turkey” trail. I gobbled up the second option, which to my delight, was almost all street walking.

So, all in all, it was a good day. I had one beer after the Hash at IDM, then headed back home for some rest and recreation in the form of Netflix. Almost through Season Two (of six) of Lucifer. I’m not a reviewer, but I’ll share some thoughts and observations soon.

And remember, grammar is important!

A pretty laid-back Hash trail yesterday, with one moderate climb and a mellow down. That suits me just fine. I started the trail ahead of the pack and left the Hash circle before it was over. Ah, the freedom to do what you want, when you want, with whoever you want is definitely underrated.

After a few beers on board, I walked up the beach to McCoy’s for my nightcap. I even sang a couple of videoke songs. All in all, a pretty fine day.

I’ll be back on Baloy this afternoon for my first date with Darlene, the gal I “met” on Date In Asia. Looking forward to seeing her in person. When I was telling her about the Hash, she must have done a Google search because she sent me some pictures of me at the Hash. And they were from my blog! It’s a little scary to think she may be reading my diary, but since she hasn’t backed out of the date, maybe I haven’t scared her away. Yet.

I’ll let you know how it goes tomorrow.

The good news is that the feedback from yesterday’s Hash participants was almost all positive. And after this post, y’all will get a year of not having read about my exploits on the mountain. How’s that for a win-win situation?

The Hashers gathered at the usual meet-up venue, the VFW, and rode rented Jeepneys to the start of the trail. I walked the 2K from my house and met them there. Once the group had started the hike, I walked back to the On-Home venue and awaited their arrival. I was surprised that a couple of the runners were back in just over an hour. Everyone else trickled back in over the next couple of hours, and no one got lost or injured, so I’ll call that a successfully completed mission as a Hare.

Glad things turned out as well as they did. Also glad I won’t be climbing Easter Mountain again until next year. On-On!

That’s all for today.

Or triple threat. Either way, I successfully completed my third climb to the top of Eastern Mountain this week, and we now have a marked trail for this afternoon’s Hash.

I’m going to walk out to the start from my house this afternoon to give the pre-trail briefing to the Hashers. Then I’ll walk the roads to Smokes and Bottles and wait for everyone there.

Yesterday’s Easter dinner with Mary went well, even if she was a little late. I don’t much care for “Filipina time” culture here, but in this case, she had a valid excuse…traffic has been practically gridlocked all weekend. Old timers here have never seen anything like it before.

It was a nice meal, and afterward, we took a nap which was also nice. We spent a couple of hours at Sloppy Joe’s, watching the insane traffic and crazier drivers on the highway. There is no traffic law enforcement, and people take full advantage of that. Oh, well. I’m just a guest in this country. Glad I don’t drive!

Okay, time to head out to perform my Hare responsibilities. Back with more tomorrow.

I wound up doing all of the short trail (4K+) yesterday. It featured three climbs, something I would not normally do voluntarily. In fact, at the top of the first hill, a long, steep slog, I could have taken a left turn and avoided the other ups, but that would have meant finishing too soon, even by my low standards. I figured I could either bail at the bottom of the down or after the second climb. Turns out, at the bottom, there was nowhere else to go but up, and at the top of the second hill, there was nothing to be done but follow the trail to the end. Well, it’s always nice to get through a tough trail, so that sense of pride is my return for a hot afternoon’s work.

My night after the hike went to shit. I was just in a pissy mood for some reason. Wound up leaving the circle early, being an asshole at IDM, and then heading home about the time the other Hashers arrived. Luckily, that behavior is not my norm. I was embarrassed thinking about it this morning.

I can and will do better.

I made the ascent to the peak of Easter mountain yesterday without incident. In fact, I made it to the top without much difficulty, which is especially surprising. I had carried my portable nebulizer with me in anticipation of a breathing attack during the climb, but I didn’t need it. Oh sure, I did some huffing on puffing on the way up, but the normal kind, not the “oh my God, I can’t breathe” feeling I’ve been experiencing recently. Even my hiking companion, Jim, was surprised at my slow but steady progress up the mountain without the need to stop and rest. I hope this is a sign that whatever has been ailing my worn-out lungs has left the building. Another indication that things may be improving is that I’m sleeping through the night without the need to get up and nebulize. I’m not sure what has changed, but it occurs to me that perhaps my rejection of gin as my alcoholic beverage of choice had a positive impact. Whatever, feeling healthier is like, well, a breath of fresh air!

The purpose of yesterday’s climb was to scout the trail for the traditional Easter Monday Hash run. The way we are going to the top is steep but not as tough as some other paths we’ve Hashed recently. Now, getting back down was another matter. There is still a lot of grass, which made finding an easy-to-follow trail difficult. In fact, we are going back out on Wednesday to find a better alternative than what we took yesterday. We’ll do that by starting at the bottom where we want to come out and then working our way back up. So, yes, I have another Easter mountain climb in the near future, actually, two more because we’ll also need to go back and mark the trail on Easter Monday.

The Hashers will ride rented Jeepneys to the trailhead next week. Jim and I took a trike yesterday to the starting point.

We are off to a good start, though.

And now, for the rest of the day. I bought the Hideaway girls some Korean-style chicken wings and bulgogi from John’s place, along with a pizza from Shamboli’s for their Sunday feeding.

And after my time at Hideaway, I kept my promise and dropped by to see Aine, the new old girl at Wet Spot.

It is Hash Monday for me, so I need to prepare myself for that adventure. Hopefully, it goes as well as yesterday did for me.