I survived another Hash. I didn’t particularly enjoy this week’s edition though. We had a crazy steep, long, and hard climb up for one thing. One section of the trail was covered in garbage. You know, I have empathy for folks scratching out a living up in the hills where conveniences like trash collection don’t exist. But there has got to be a better way than creating your own dump site behind the house. At least dig a hole and bury it. Anyway, rant over.
The climb to the top was on a trail we seldom use (I didn’t remember most of it) and I expect the reason for that is that it is just too damn hard. One of the visiting Hashers, from Manila I think, gave up and turned back about halfway up. Once we were once again on mostly level ground the trail wasn’t bad. My group opted out of a second climb towards the end and walked the streets back to our On-Home at Baloy Beach. A little longer in distance but much flatter. That’s the way I roll these days.
Lots of beer drinking at the Hash and finished my night with some more beers at the Car Wash. Slept the peaceful sleep of the inebriated.
VD fell on Hash Monday this year. That apparently caused a conflict of interest. The number of attendees was way down from normal, anyway. My girl wasn’t particularly pleased with my decision to Hash instead of romance, but as I explained to her, I could do both. I also noted that she could always join me at the Hash which seemed to end the debate. Anyway, I did the trail but skipped the Hash circle rituals. Yesterday was my 119th consecutive week of Hashing so I didn’t want to break my streak. Once I paid my fee, my record was intact so I could safely leave early and treat my gal to dinner at her favorite restaurant. So, win-win, right?
As I mentioned above, just a couple of beers at Blue Butterfly then I went to meet my dinner date. Other than her, the best part of the meal was the view. My dinner was served almost cold. Service was slow. I’m not sure why Papagayo is her favorite place but I’m reluctant to go back after my experience last night.
Finished the night at the GF’s new place, called The Snack Bar. More drama courtesy of the Dick, but I’m pretty much at the point where I just shrug it off. It must suck to be a loser like him and I can be thankful that I’m the better, and luckier, man.
There you have a snapshot from another day in the life and times of your humble correspondent. Stay tuned for more installments.
And man, am I getting dizzy. Not sure if it’s the spins or the ups and downs, but it has been quite a ride lately. I’m slowly adapting to my new lifestyle and might actually make this work despite the efforts of those determined to see me fail. If failure is to ultimately be my fate, it will be a choice, not something imposed upon me. Yeah, brave words I know. But my eyes are wide-open and I’m willing to make the effort as long as it seems worthwhile. Now, if only I could make all the drama feel entertaining. Oh well, that’s unlikely, so I’ll just have to deal with it all as best as I am able.
In the meantime, there are many positives to embrace. My gal and I continue to make progress, even if it is sometimes in a two-step forward, one step back, mode. We have good times and good experiences. We are getting better at communicating our thoughts and feelings with one another. And we share certain compatibilities that make it all seem worthwhile.
It was also Hash Monday, and in the afternoon I enjoyed a relatively easy 5K trail. Only one climb with a couple of dicey spots, and most of the rest was on familiar turf. Well, there was one section behind the squatter village adjacent to Alta Vista that is apparently a makeshift trash dump for the locals. We were literally walking through shitty diapers and other disgusting garbage for a bit. I know I won’t ever be going back that way.
Photos from our hike:
And that’s the way things have been rolling around here. Thanks for checking in!
Made it through one more day without any major disappointments, heartbreaks, or other self-inflicted wounds. That’s always a plus. A good Hash and some nice after Hash activities made for a full and satisfying day.
Our “sane” group of Hashers did a 7K hike with only one big climb. We walked around, rather than over, the second mountain as the Hares intended. That made it just about right for the likes of me. A good On-Home at Da’ Kudos on Baloy Beach with the usual beer-infused Hash rituals. You can see the photos at the end of this post.
The girlfriend messaged me that she wanted to meet up after the Hash at her favorite place to eat, Papagayo’s. Naturally, I did as I was told and caught a trike. Duh. When she finished her dinner, we walked back along the beach to her resto-bar. No easy trick on a dark night, even with a cellphone flashlight. I had some beers at the Car Wash and interacted with some of the other customers. At around 10 p.m. someone suggested going to Cheap Charlies and the girlfriend was actually enthusiastic about the idea. I was surprised because she had never shown any interest in joining me in my bar hangouts previously.
So, off we went. There were five of us all together (3 guys and 2 gals) and we were the only customers when we arrived at Cheap Charlies. The look on the bargirls’ faces, especially my regulars, when they saw me with a woman for the first time was priceless. A mix of surprise and disappointment. They knew there’d be no multiple lady drinks in their immediate future. Well, I did get my favorite, Alma, who dutifully served as our waitress, a drink and left her a nice tip.
One beer at Cheap Charlies, then we crossed the highway and gave BarCelona a go. Sitting outside on the rooftop was very pleasant. Music and service were good and we stayed until closing time at midnight. The rest of the group wanted to join the after-hours crowd at It Doesn’t Matter, but I was past my expiration date and headed home with the girlfriend in tow. We enjoyed a dish of rocky road ice cream and a short YouTube video from a vlogger we know, then hit the hay.
Alright, now for those Hash photos I promised:
I’ll be attending a more traditional birthday celebration at Martin’s house later this afternoon.
Life may not be perfect, but days like yesterday make it feel good to be alive. It will hopefully be fun, and at least interesting, to find out what happens next. Either way, come on back soon and read all about it!
I rather enjoyed the Hash trail yesterday. Even though the notorious Gunter (Vienna Sausage) was one of the Hares. Now mind you, it did kick my ass, even though it was only 5K or so. What I liked about it was there was nothing too crazy or dangerous, which is not always the case with this Hare. He even did an “easy” bypass to avoid one of the steep downhills and a climb back up through a rocky creekbed. This old guy appreciates that kind of gesture. What made it so difficult was an almost constant series of ups, then downs, without much respite of flat ground in between to recuperate.
Notwithstanding the relative harshness of the hike, I enjoyed taking some paths I hadn’t been on before. Seeing new sights on such a familiar mountain is another reason to give kudos to the Hares. Hope you enjoy these photographs of the trek:
After the Hash festivities concluded, I caught a ride to the Car Wash. I was the only customer, so I bought drinks and nachos for the staff and my girl. Nice way to end the day.
I began my Hash career at the beginning of 2018 and look at me now–still alive! Just been looking at the Hash stats I see I’m in the top fifteen of active participants in the SBH3.
Good times!
Yesterday’s Hash was a little different in that the trail started a good way up Rizal Extension. I had a long forty-minute walk (including an up and down on My Bitch) just to get there. Made for a longer hike than the 6.5K that the Hare laid out for us. It wasn’t a bad trail though; the climb to the top of Kalaklan was as hard as ever, but pretty much smooth sailing after that. I did “shortcut” one down and up loop, but the route I took was not much shorter overall. Anyway, it was definitely the best Hash trail I’ve seen this year!
A long and flat trail, just the way I like it. The only downside was there was nothing new about it for me, been there and done that hike before; several times actually. Still nice countryside though, and we had some overcast skies and breeze to keep things almost comfortable. My group came in a tad under 9K, and that includes our shortcut negating a climb up Black Rock mountain near the end of the trail. We did some steps instead, so we weren’t totally flatliners. To the photos then:
And that was the way Run #1477 of the Subic Bay Hash House Harriers went down. Thanks for joining me!
Yesterday’s Hash was our annual Candy Run. Santa Claus was the Hare and he led us through the backstreets of San Isidro and Barretto as we handed out candy and treats for the neighborhood children. It’s a special day and both fun and heartwarming.
Anyway, it was a good Hash even if I was in a shitty mood. Drank until they loaded the ice chests into the Hashmobile, then I walked across the street and drank some more at Cheap Charlies. Hey, whatever it takes to kill the pain, right? There was a full moon to keep me company. And some thirsty bargirls.
Went home drunk, but the sun came up this morning.
Maybe so, but I’m a selfish bastard. And if I care, I sure as hell ain’t gonna share. Lately, I’m thinking that caring is a curse and that refusing to share my heart with another is the wisest course of action. Yeah, I’m riding that fence again. Stick around to the end of this post and I’ll try to provide some insights into my thinking.
But first, there’s yesterday’s Hash to catch up on. Most of the feedback was very positive–people actually did enjoy our trail. It had the right mix of ups and downs, some new terrain, and was about the right distance for most of the kennel. The only real complaint was that there was a couple of places where the trail markings were unclear. That’s part of the problem with marking the trail a day ahead of time; traffic, wind, and vandals can obliterate the powder. I’ll use more shredded paper next time.
Here are a few pictures from the trail:
Via Facebook memories, I was reminded that five years ago I was still hard at work in the service of my Uncle Sam.
I got a message this morning from Ron, the owner of Sit-n-Bull. He’s busy cleaning out the remaining stuff in the old restaurant location and he found a set of darts. Said they were mine for free if I wanted them. Well, I’ve been trying to get xxxx to play with me (shuddup, you know what I mean!) so I hoofed it on over.
Had a nice chat with Ron, then decided to get me some lunch while I was out. The new Sit-n-Bowl is only a couple of blocks away, so naturally, I returned Ron’s generosity by eating at his place. I had wanted to try his new “El Padre” beef burrito on Sunday but was informed that they were out of tortillas. When I walked in today my waitress asked if I still wanted an El Padre. Hell yes!
When I took a gander at Ron’s homemade bakery products, I was happy to see some fresh carrot cake in stock. How could I refuse?
The waitresses asked if I would buy them a slice of carrot cake to share and I of course agreed. Sharing is caring, after all.
I’m thinking about trying this recipe:
Alright, now a brief update on my relationship.
If you’ve been following along lately, I’m not happy about some Dick actively courting my girlfriend. Sunday evening I had invited xxxxx to dinner but she was “too busy” at work. When I got to her place a couple of hours later, she was busy having an Apple beer with Dick. She did at least give me a warm greeting, which was an improvement over previous visits when she was engaged in convo with Dick. After a while, Dick went next door to sing videoke with xxxxx’s mother. That may be cause for concern as well. Getting mom on his side would be a pretty big coup in this culture. While he was gone, xxxxx warmed up and we had a nice time together. Then Dick was back and so was xxxx’s cold shoulder. I was drunk and pissed, so I said goodnight and left.
Didn’t hear from her for most of the day, but we finally had a “talk” on messenger in the afternoon. I confronted her about how she made me feel when that Dick was around and she continued to say they were just “good friends”. I actually don’t have any reason to doubt that and from what I’ve seen I don’t think he’s her type at all. But my point was she doesn’t act like my girlfriend whenever he’s around. Her position is that he is a good customer, brings in a lot of his friends, and she sees no reason to antagonize him. I think that equates to putting his feelings ahead of mine and I don’t like it.
So, I’ve got some things to think through here. I’m not the jealous type, I mean, if she thinks she’d be happier with someone else, then by all means she should go for it. But I’m not willing to sit there and be subjected to watching this guy court the woman I think I love right in front of my face.
More and more I find myself asking if this relationship is really worth it. Looking back on those carefree days of emptiness and meaninglessness seems almost liberating somehow. No, I’m not giving up yet. But my tolerance level is close to being maxed out. I will definitely be spending less time at xxxx’s place of business. If she can’t free herself up to spend time with me more frequently, I guess I’ll have my answer.
It was weird this afternoon as I started work on this post. I try and do a search to make sure I haven’t used the same title before. And looking at some of the posts that search brought up was a little surprising. There was this post from August about my tentative early steps with Jessel that was eerily similar to some of my current emotions. Lots of differences too–xxxxx and I have traveled much further down the road. I was in love with my fantasy of Jessel, I’m currently dealing with the reality of who xxxx truly is. As Kevin Kim pointed out in a comment on an earlier post, trying to change someone into something you find more desirable is most often a fool’s quest. Learn to love them for what they are, not for what you want them to be. I get that.
And then I came across this post from over sixteen years ago. I don’t even recall what it was that triggered me, but it must have been related to the beginning of the end of my third marriage. Anyway, I had discovered Kevin’s blog by then, and he had written an Easter post that really resonated with me during that troubled time in my life. I quoted it extensively all those years ago and I deem it worthy to do so again here:
Since I and a few people I know are all going through a painful period, each of us for various reasons, I thought it might be good to write about “putting it down.”
In Zen Buddhism, the maxim is “don’t make anything.” Your mind is so often the source of your troubles. You choose to face the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune either negatively or positively. Often, at the beginning of a troublesome period in your life, it is difficult to realize how responsible you are for your own choices. It’s easier to shift blame to your surroundings. But ultimately, the healthiest route out of the forest of troubles is to start by looking in a mirror. Behold what’s actually there; don’t needlessly manufacture problems for yourself and others.
I’m not a scriptural literalist, so I don’t believe Jesus rose from the dead. But the story of the passion and resurrection nevertheless holds power for me, because it’s a story about a man who put everything down, including his own life, for the sake of love. How many of us can claim to be ready and willing to do something like that? Not many, I suspect.
Most of us, like little children, cling desperately to our cherished notions, preconceptions, and delusions, unwilling to countenance truth and change. We face the world with fear, and create clever rationales for our spiritual cowardice. In a crisis period, this instinct intensifies. The ego swells to enormous size– everything is about getting hurt, everything is about me, me, me. The world doesn’t understand my pain, and only I am in pain!
I’ve felt like that before. I’ve looked out at a street full of people and wondered why they didn’t see my agony, which was plain as day to me. The world kept right on turning, resisting my egocentric interpretation of it.
And there’s a lesson in that. Life is change, ceaseless change. All we have is this moment. If we try to keep the past with us, we merely create more suffering for ourselves. If we try to hold on to our anger, or our hurt, or whatever it is we’re feeling, we poison ourselves.
It’s better simply to put it all down.
People need time to do this. It can’t be done immediately. If, for example, you’ve just experienced a family tragedy, you can’t be expected to act like the Taoist writer Chuang-tzu, banging on pots and celebrating your wife’s death. No; most of us need time to mourn, grieve, recover. But after that period, we should be ready and willing to move on with our lives, to follow the constant flow of the river.
You can’t see the new life of Easter if you’re always looking backward. Easter points simultaneously to the present and to the future, to hope and happiness and fulfillment. Think positively. Embrace goodness where you find it. Actively seek the good, don’t wait passively for it.
Maybe I’m just a slow learner, but I’m doing better than I was all those years ago. And if the time indeed comes again to “put it down”, I think I’ll move on without too much difficulty. With time comes perspective. I can live a blessed life with or without love. I know that now.
A Hash Monday with the twist of my participation as one of the Hares. We marked the trail yesterday morning so that freed me to do a Baloy Beach hike today. The Hash trail is around 7K and probably a bit more challenging than folks will be expecting from us aged Hares. I briefly considered doing the trail again with the Hashers, but I’m not feeling up to it. Hence my beach walk.
Here are a few photos to give you a glimpse into what passes for my so-called life. I ain’t complaining, it could always be worse. And might be soon if I ain’t careful. More on that in another post.
And now for the Baloy walk:
Feel free to Relive the walk here:
I’m not sure what’s going to happen next in my love life, but this isn’t too far-fetched:
Alright, more updates tomorrow. Thanks for stopping by!
That pretty much sums up yesterday’s Hash trail. Leech My Nuggets was the Hare and he did not disappoint, providing a challenging and well-marked path for his fellow Hashers to follow. In an unusual twist, Leech did the hike with the Hash group despite having done the Hare duties earlier in the day. Well played!
A pretty nice Hash trail yesterday. Sure, it had its ups and downs, but don’t they all? A mix of street walking and hill trekking made for a nice ride overall.
And that was pretty much it for yesterday’s Hash. A friend and blog reader, Maria, made me some personalized coasters.
I handed some out to my fellow Hashers and they seemed to like them too. Thanks again, Maria.
I also left a few coasters with Pearl to use at her food place. Spreading the joy this holiday season! We also enjoyed a nice lunch together today. I’ll post about that tomorrow.
Saw this meme on Facebook today and had to agree with the sentiment:
I’ve got some darts in my immediate future so I’d best get prepared for that endeavor.
I only did a small portion of yesterday’s Hash trail in deference to my ailing back. The pain is not quite as sharp today and as of now, I intend to do the group hike tomorrow, even if that means gritting my teeth in agony while I walk. I hope it doesn’t come to that.
So, in COVID prevention news, we no longer have to wear those dumbass face shields in the supermarket. I was so pleased heading out to Royal for my shopping excursion this morning without one. Imagine my surprise and disappointment when I was asked for my vaccination card by the security guard at the entrance. WTF? I ain’t go one. It was right at opening time and the guard indicated the vaccine requirement wasn’t in effect yet, so I was able to enter the store. I was pissed because it is a stupid policy and especially because there had been absolutely no forewarning. Idiots.
At the checkout stand, I cashed in the points on my Royal rewards card figuring I might not be back anytime soon. That was good for twenty bucks off my groceries. As I was leaving I went to the customer service desk to get clarification on the vax policy–specifically, I wanted to know if applied to all the stores on SBMA (the old Navy base) or only Royal. I didn’t get a clear answer on that, but I suspected it will be SBMA-wide. All the manager could tell me was they were waiting for “the memo”. Well, I just saw on Facebook that people have been turned away this afternoon from both Royal stores. And someone posted this showing that the restriction is indeed SBMA-wide:
So, I’ll be doing my shopping elsewhere for the foreseeable future. You know, I’m actually not anti-vaccination. I just don’t need one since I’ve already had COVID. And if this shit they are forcing on people actually worked, those of us who are unvaccinated wouldn’t pose a threat. And the more they try and force me into getting jabbed, the more I’m inclined to resist. I’ll make up my own mind about when or if I want to be shot. Honestly, it won’t surprise me if immigration starts requiring proof of vaccination to renew your visa. What a crock this all is. I think only about 35% of the general population has been vaccinated, I guess they can eat cake.
Alright, let me share some photos from my abbreviated Hash yesterday:
Now to find out if my bad back will impact my ability to throw darts. Well, at least I’ll have an excuse if I play poorly, legitimate or not. I’ll let you know how it goes tomorrow.
Well, I know what's right
I got just one life
In a world that keeps on pushin' me around
But I'll stand my ground
And I won't back down
I am happy to report that everyone survived yesterday’s Hash. No one was injured or irretrievably lost. That’s always been my goal as a Hare. As expected, the feedback from many of the Hashers was they were surprised the trail was so difficult with a couple of notorious shortcutters serving as Hares. Mission accomplished in that regard as well!
Having marked the trail on Sunday, all that was left for us to do yesterday was to give the last-minute instructions to the Hashers and send them on their way, then wait for their return. Pubic Head (Scott) and I hung out at the Hideaway bar for a couple of beers to kill the time. The place was almost full on an early Monday afternoon. Griff, the new owner, even bought us a beer, which was nice. Scott (a Navy vet) told me a little of the history of the bar and I was surprised to learn it existed back in the old days when the Navy was here, albeit with several different names/owners over the years. Anyway, it was a nice way to spend an hour. I’ll factor this recent experience into my bar rankings next time I update.
Our On-Home was at Blue Butterfly. When we arrived some Hashers were already there, although none of them had done the whole trail. Leech My Nuggets was the first runner to complete the entire course, which is not unusual. It wasn’t a long trail (just under 6K) but those two big climbs took some time. The last person back was in at around the two-hour mark.
I also had a fine time at Blue Butterfly. The gals were all looking good, and I latched on to Joean (her spelling, not mine) who was friendly and sweet and who kept my beer bottles full. I’m going to maybe have to start visiting BB more often.
Here are some more pictures from the trail and On-Home:
Anyway, it was a good Hash day. Started drinking early though and after the Hash had a couple of more at It Doesn’t Matter. Then on the way home had the trike driver take me to Jollibee for a burger and a sundae. Fuck the diet!
A good Hash yesterday. Almost pleasant, in fact. The Hare, Leech My Nuggets, is known for his difficult trails, but this was easy enough to seem almost out of character for him. Sure, it had several hill climbs, but nothing long, steep, and hard. Of course, our “sane” group did some modifications, including eliminating one of the bigger climbs. But despite being notorious short cutters, we actually added distance to the Hare’s route by walking the 2K from Alta Vista to the trailhead.
Lots of photos to share. I’m even featured in quite a few of them as the other Hashers did a lot of the photography. So, let’s get to it:
And so concluded another Hash Monday. It’s good to be alive!
I’m no Frodo, but yesterday’s Hash trail would have been better suited for a Hobbitt. It’s funny in a way because I had that thought on trail and then one of the other Hashers made a similar comment to me.
It was a surprisingly short trail with only one big up and down. The climb wasn’t really steep, but it was long and meandering. The part I really disliked was going through sections that were so overgrown and jungle-like that I had to bend over a lot as I worked my way up. Had I been Hobbitt height it would have been much easier.
We started and finished at Hunter’s Jo Inn in Calapadayan. Pubic Head (Scott) drove so I was able to avoid the dreaded ride out there in the Hashmobile. Unfortunately, he lost his car keys while we were hiking the trail. Luckily, another Hasher found them. The keys apparently fell out of his backpack in one of those “bend over while you walk” parts of the trail. Anyway, I got a ride back to Barretto with him, so it ended well for both of us.
To the photos then:
After leaving Hunter Jo’s, I had Scott drop me off at It Doesn’t Matter for some more beer drinking and tomfoolery with my fellow Hashers. A good day all things considered.
Yesterday’s Hash trail was surprisingly difficult. The Hare, Leech My Nuggets, had described the first climb as “only a hump”. I was expecting an easy hill but was reminded that some people call getting fucked a hump. So, yeah, that was quite a humping we had there. The alleged purpose of the hump was to avoid the flooded rice paddies in the valley. We accomplished that for the most part but there was still plenty of water flowing along the way. Well, I don’t suppose a walk in the park would be a proper anniversary Hash, now would it? Happy 28th to the Subic Bay Hash House Harriers!
Actually, they aren’t. But more on that another day.
Whoo boy! Earning my keep as the assistant to the Beer Meister meant lugging ice chests and cases of beer down the stairs at the Alta Vista clubhouse at 0730 in preparation for today’s Subic Anniversary Hash. Already sweating like a pig and haven’t even started the trail yet. Will be leaving for that adventure at 1100 so wanted to get in a quick post while I can.
Yesterday’s outing with the Angeles City Corona Hashers was a bit of a fiasco. My group shortcut the first crazy climb and avoided a dreaded creekbed walk that featured ropes to enable climbing over rocks. No thank you! What was surprising was as we were walking the remainder of the trail we encountered several groups of non-short cutters walking the trail in reverse. It seems they took a wrong turn at the top of the first climb and just winged it from there. Oh well, shit happens.
I thought the hike as we performed it was pleasant enough, around 4K and no major obstacles to overcome. I was surprised to find out that the Corona Hash Grandmaster, Egghead, paid for all the beer and food for the Hashers in attendance. That set him back a pretty penny for sure. The Pub supplied the tacos and they were excellent. The only problem for me is when these events commence so early in the day I’m wiped out before the sun goes down. More of that in my immediate future I’m afraid. I’m sure the other Hashers would tell me to “suck it up, buttercup”, so that’s what I’ll do.
A few pictures from yesterday’s outing:
That’s all I’ve got time for this morning. A report on today’s Hash tomorrow!
I don’t want to downplay the gravity of the situation, but yesterday’s Hash trail did not result in my downfall. It could have been pure luck I suppose because the going got steep on the downhill run, and yet I somehow managed to keep my feet despite the efforts of Mick Jaggar and Keith Richards to undermine me. If you get my meaning.
Anyhoo, for the most part, I enjoyed the trail. We started on the familiar backstreets of Barretto, did a challenging but moderate climb I’d done before, and then took a new way down that I reckon I will never voluntarily try again. Finished with a stroll through Marian Hills, then up to Alta Vista, and concluded our hike on Baloy Beach at our On-Home venue, Da’ Kudos.
Hopefully, the photographs will tell the story better than I can: