As Tuesdays go, yesterday broke the routine. Or maybe it was the beginning of a new routine. I reckon time will tell.

Did the grocery shopping as usual, but once again paid in cash. Not having a credit card has changed the way I move money around. I used to make two withdrawals of 20,000 pesos each week with my US bank debit card (which charged a 500-peso fee). Now, I move the money to a Philippine account via a wire service (Wise), which costs less and gives me easier (and cheaper) access for ATM withdrawals. I still need the credit card (it’s in the mail) because that’s my health insurance. Private hospitals won’t admit patients if they can’t pay in advance, and public hospitals are where people go to die. My credit card allows me to pay medical expenses should they arise. I have a credit limit of $17,000, and if that’s not enough, I’d probably die anyway.

After returning from the shopping excursion, Swan went out for a tutoring session with a neighbor’s child, and I engaged in some darts practice. My plan was to participate in the Alley Cats tourney after my doctor’s appointment. I wound up spending more time with Dr. Jo than I anticipated, though, and when we arrived at Alley, the place was packed. I’m still not ready to disappoint a partner in a doubles tournament, so I opted out.

Dr. Jo tweaked my daily blood pressure meds a bit and also ordered some tests to check my lungs and bladder. Regarding the bladder, she seemed concerned when I told her how frequently I urinate (every two hours or so when sleeping), and that I’m having some bladder control issues (when I gotta go, I can’t hold it. Even peed my pants once in Vietnam). Anyway, I’ll be back next week when the results are in, and we’ll see where things go from there.

After the doctor’s visit, we hung out in Alley Cats for an hour or so, then crossed the highway for some dinner at Mango’s.

After another satisfying dining experience, we headed out to see what was happening on the side of town we don’t frequently visit. The Hangout bar is now closed, with a “for sale” banner out front. The new Adam’s Bar doesn’t serve wine, so we just kept on walking. Across the highway, Gold Bar beckoned to us, and we heeded the call. I had my darts with me and had a hankering to try out the dartboard there.

We did our nightcap at Queen Victoria, and then we were done with Tuesday.

I try so hard to avoid politics here, but sometimes I can’t resist:

On to March 2017 in the LTG archives, where I recount the confirmation that my lungs were shit, but at least it wasn’t cancer. They are still shit almost nine years later, but the good news is they have not deteriorated to the extent that they might have had I not begun my daily inhaler meds regimen.

Today’s YouTube video is a short telling (four minutes) of what to consider when choosing where in the Philippines to live. It resonated with me because I had just read my posts from February 2017 as I explored Barretto as a potential retirement destination. The vlogger is correct that everyone is different, and knowing what matters to you is key to making the right choice. I wouldn’t be comfortable with a rural provincial life, that’s for sure. Barretto has a small-town vibe, but also a friendly expat community, the Hash, beaches and mountains, and, of course, some nice bars to hang out at. I have to hand it to me, I found my glove. *ahem*

And now for your daily dose of cringe:

I’m planning to visit the Kokomo’s floating bar later today since we missed out on the Baloy experience yesterday. A new Wednesday routine is in the making!

Here we go again, with another episode in the life I’m living now, starting with the Sunday Sweets Stroll:

Then, at the appointed time, we headed out for the rest of our Sunday routine.

And then it was time for Sunday dinner. The new routine is to visit a place we haven’t tried for a while.

I used to visit here more frequently, but the combination of higher prices, reduced quality, and better options keeps me away these days. My San Miguel Light was 140 pesos last night. The average price around town is less than 100 pesos.

Next stop for us was Red Bar. Cliff and Ashley have moved over from It Doesn’t Matter, and from what I’ve seen, they have brought a lot of their regular customers with them. I still enjoy IDM, and it has a kitchen, so I’ll keep both bars in my rotation.

We did our nightcap at Jumpin’ Jacks and enjoyed the vibe and music as usual. And then we called it a night and made our way home. I did make a batch of strawberry-banana smoothies for our bedtime treat. Life is good, enjoy it while you can.

Today my younger brother Gregory celebrates his 69th birthday. Keep ’em coming!

Indulge me while I indulge my fetish of mocking the loony left:

From the February 2017 LTG archives, I share my Valentine’s Day reflections. I include a post I made on a Philippine forum back in 2009, where I struggled with the decision to choose the love of a Korean woman (Jee Yeun) or the life I had dreamed of in the PI. I chose love back then, but in my 2017 post, I swore I would never love again. Well, look at me now. Hopefully, I got it right this time. There is also a YouTube video I made with photos from the years I shared with Jee Yeun. I tried to watch it this morning, but it proved to be too painful. I guess some wounds truly never do heal.

For today’s YouTube video, I’ll share something you never see on TV anymore, but I saw all the time growing up: cigarette commercials. Despite my fleeting memory, I still recall several of the jingles (Winston tastes good like a cigarette should). The stupid thing is, I never smoked as a teen (well, cigarettes, I mean) but started puffing tobacco at around 30. Twenty years later, the damage was done, and I still live with it today. I definitely will not smoke in my do-over life.

Ready for some humor?

Here’s an added bonus for my loyal readers. Since I couldn’t get any sunset shots yesterday, let me share what I saw this morning:

You are welcome. Now, it’s time to prepare for the Hash. Already have my shortcut plotted.

What can I say that hasn’t been said before? Not a lot, but I’ve never let that stop me, so let’s get after it!

First up, let’s talk about the comments section here at LTG. Honestly, interacting with my readers is one of my favorite things about blogging. It doesn’t bother me at all if you don’t agree with something I’ve written, so go on and tell me how you truly feel. But please maintain a modicum of decency and respect. Personal attacks and name-calling don’t win the argument. And if you are going to accuse me of being something I am not, like an antisemite or a racist, at least offer an example in support of your argument. Again, almost everyone who bothers to comment does so appropriately. And this morning I discovered something interesting about the exceptions to that rule.

104.28.31.65 is the IP address of one of the worst offenders who goes by the name “Canadian” in the comments. Here are a couple of his greatest hits:

No mention of the newly-released Epstein files? Let’s just ignore more damning evidence. Keep owning us libs, you pedofilia-endorsing cunt.

When is your next Dr Jo appointment? The diagnosis will be severe bigotry but you already know that.

So, as you can see, he has nothing of value to offer in support of whatever argument he’s trying to make, and he’s addressing topics I’ve never raised on the blog. Both of the above comments went into my rarely used trash bin. And then I noticed something else about that IP address: it belongs to several other commenters in addition to Canadian: Boss Hogg, Trapper, GotoHell!!!, Devin and Pious Pete. I’m not sure how IPs work, but I assume all the commenters with that address are the same person. Whatever, I’ll be taking a firmer stance on what I approve in the comments section from now on. So, there’s no point in wasting your time being an asshole.

Alright, now that we have that out of the way, we can move on to the boring stuff. Like our first Decay Dance (candy walk) since last year:

And we were missed! One woman told Swan (in Tagalog) that she had been worried by our absence, thinking I might be ill. Nope, but thanks for your concern!

My buddy Max from the Netherlands is back in town, and he invited us to his place to help celebrate his birthday. Naturally, we accepted.

I’ve never seen anything quite like Max’s dwelling. A small living quarters (the kitchen is outdoors) nestled right up against the hillside. No vehicle access other than by scooter, as it is at the end of a long, narrow pathway. It would be a bitch to haul the groceries up each week, but it’s a cozy and comfortable homestead. Max is a lucky man!

We did a brief nightcap at It Doesn’t Matter, then called it a night and headed home.

From the February 2017 LTG archives, I finally got an appointment at the Army hospital on Yongsan Garrison. While waiting to see the doctor, I had a breathing attack and was taken to the emergency room. After some nebulization, I was breathing okay, so they took some chest X-rays, which resulted in a diagnosis of COPD. And I’ve been living with it ever since.

Today’s YouTube video is an old one I came across somewhere. Still pretty damn funny and only two minutes long.

Hold on to your hats, here’s some more laughs:

And there you have it. Coming up on my agenda: an afternoon nap, the Arizona Floating Bar experience, and choosing a dinner venue. Tell you about it tomorrow.

So, you are in for a treat today…a short post here at LTG. I’ve got things to do this afternoon, so let’s get on with the down and dirty, shall we?

Yesterday, we finally got the grocery shopping done, and I paid in cash, about 22,000 pesos worth (7000 at YBC, 15,000 at Royal). Talk about a thick wallet! It was kinda sweet that the folks at YBC had noticed our absence these past two weeks.

After grocery shopping, we sent the driver and helper home to unload while Swan and I walked to the Harbor Point Mall. We stopped at the Globe store to pay my cell phone bill, and then I added Swan to my post-paid unlimited data plan. Now I will never have to hear those dreaded words, “Can I use your phone? I’m out of load” again.

Next stop was a sporting goods store in the mall, where I bought a new set of darts and the necessary accessories. Yes, I am considering taking up the game again after a hiatus of more than two years. I’m not going to go back to being a darts maniac playing five nights a week, but once in a while, it might be fun. We’ll see how that works out.

Then we were ready for lunch, and there was a newish restaurant in the mall I’d heard about.

Regular readers can probably guess what we ordered.

They tasted okay, but Swan judged them not as good as John’s place.

Then it was time to grab a taxi for home. SBMA has a taxi mafia, alleged set pricing, no meters, and no outside competition allowed. The cabs were lined up where we exited the mall, and the first one in the queue came to pick us up. I learned early in my Philippine life to always ask for the price prior to departure. How much to Barretto? “400 pesos,” the driver responded. I said the metered taxis outside are only 250. He shrugged and said, “Fixed pricing”. I shrugged and said okay, but before we were out of the parking lot, Swan clarified that we were going to Alta Vista. The driver said, “Alta Vista is 500 pesos.” I called bullshit, told him to stop the cab, and we got out. We walked to the SM Mall across the river (and off SBMA) and caught a cab there. This one didn’t have a meter either, but the quoted price was 300 pesos. I added a 50 peso tip when we arrived safely in Alta Vista. And no, it is not about the money; it’s about being scammed.

At beer o’clock, we headed back into town and made Red Bar our first stop. We’ve always been patio sitters there, and we used to have it mostly to ourselves. These days, Cliff and Ashley, formerly of It Doesn’t Matter, are running the Red Bar show, and it seems all the old regulars from IDM have followed them there.

It’s a new vibe at Red Bar, but we still had our usual good time. Ashley is a fellow Hasher whose company we enjoy, and we wish her and hubby Cliff all the best in their new gig.

At dinner time, we crossed the highway to Jewel Cafe.

Then a nightcap at Green Room before triking home and bringing our Thursday to an end.

From the January 2017 LTG archives, here is a pictorial post about my welcoming the New Year in the Philippines (Puerto Galera and Manila). Two places I wouldn’t want to live, but one of these days I may revisit Puerto Galera so I can experience it when I don’t feel like I’m dying.

Speaking of dying, today’s YouTube video shares six signs that may signal you are in your last year. Well, I haven’t been able to shake the feeling since I turned 70 that the end is near, but most of these signs from the video are not currently present in my daily living experience. We’ll see how long that lasts.

Laugh while you can:

So, I’m going to head out soon to Alley Cats and see how those new arrows of mine fly. I expect I’ll be sloppy bad since I’ve not thrown for so long. They have a tournament on Fridays, but unless I warm up better than I expect, I doubt I’ll be participating. Well, if it is a singles tourney, I might, but I don’t want to crush the dreams of any partner who has the misfortune of drawing me as a teammate in doubles. Anyway, you’ve got to start somewhere.

Getting back in the groove yesterday with the Wednesday Walkers group hike.

I thought we were going to do the standard Philseco loop, but my hike mates had other ideas. We left the road and headed up into the hills on a path I hadn’t visited for at least a couple of years. Oh well, nothing wrong with a little climb-it change.

I do enjoy getting out for these walkabouts and hope I’ll be able to continue doing them well into the future. Having Scott back out with us is quite the inspiration in an “if he can do it, I can do it” kinda way. I also get to steal some of his photographs!

The other side of my pleasure coin is lifting a bottle or ten of beer when the sun is almost done for the day.

Swan took the evening off, so I was on my own. I decided to start things off with a visit to one of my old haunts, Cheap Charlies.

As I’ve mentioned before, Cheap Charlies defies their name by charging a whopping 250 pesos for a single lady drink. That’s a bridge too far for me (the max I pay is 200). I told my waitress they should offer a “Cheap Charlie lady drink” — just soda with no alcohol. She just laughed, but I think they’d make money on that deal.

One of the reasons I chose to start at Cheap Charlies was to get some grub from the excellent restaurant downstairs, Foodies.

And since I wasn’t buying lady drinks, I treated the girls to a bite to eat:

After departing from Cheap Charlies, I paid a visit to the Alaska Club. Owner Jerry is out of town, but the music was good, and I enjoyed my beers there. Bought my waitress a lady drink (150 pesos) and tipped the dancers 50 pesos each.

I did my nightcap next door at Wet Spot and shared drinks with fellow Hasher Beth (BF’s Wet Spot) and my regular waitress, Irene. I ordered a banana split to go from the Sit-n-Bull waitress and was surprised when she returned and advised me that they were out of ice cream. How does that happen? Oh well, I made smoothies instead when I got home.

And that’s how I filled those Wednesday hours.

Meanwhile, things must be really heating up in the USA because what seemed like an almost innocuous post I made on Facebook caused more lefty head explosions than usual.

I was sadly surprised to hear from a dear friend I used to work with, telling me I should post photos of all the school kids murdered by white men with guns. Um, that’s apples and oranges, and what has race got to do with it? Oh well, as I’ve said numerous times, no one’s mind is going to change through arguments on social media.

From Facebook memories today is this photo that was posted eight years ago by a bartender I knew in Pyeongtaek.

It is now January 2017 in the LTG archives, and I had some health issues during my trip to the Philippines that I might have been lucky to survive. When I made it back home, nebulization became a daily feature in my life. I was eventually diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), my reward for smoking cigarettes for twenty-some years. I had quit a couple of years earlier, but the damage was done. I still have occasional flare-ups, but I haven’t needed my nebulizer or oxygen tank for several months now. Fingers crossed!

In today’s YouTube video, the Filipina Pea takes us home to her province (Leyte) to meet the parents. It’s the life I see here all the time, especially on my rural hikes. As I said after my first visit to the Philippines, I’ve never seen a poorer or a happier people.

Hopefully, these won’t piss anybody off:

Yeah, another one of those boring posts. It’s better when you are living it, trust me!

So, my Tuesday didn’t go as planned. Things started to go wrong when my bank back home sent a message about suspicious activity on my credit card. One was a charge to someplace called QVC that I’ve never heard of. The other was to Walmart, which doesn’t have any stores in the Philippines (not to be confused with WalterMart). I went to check my account, and this message was posted there:

I confirmed the cited transactions were fraudulent, and the bank has now cancelled my card and mailed a new one to my USA address, for all the good that does me. Well, Tuesday is grocery shopping day, and we’d been gone for over two weeks, so we needed to restock. Paying the old-fashioned way (cash) was my best option, so on the way to the supermarket, I had our driver stop at an ATM that allowed 20,000-peso withdrawals. Except the machine told me “it could not dispense.” So, we drove on to another BPI branch that has three ATMs. The first one didn’t dispense. Neither did the second one, but when I looked at my receipt, it said that I had received the requested pesos.

It was 8:50, and the bank branch opened at 9:00, so we waited. And waited. They eventually unlocked the door ten minutes late, and we went inside to fill out a report about the robbery. After completing a form, I was told the money should be returned in “one to three days.” Alrighty, then. Well, since I couldn’t access cash and my credit card was voided, the shopping options were nil, so I had my driver take us home empty-handed.

The ATM money has now been returned to my account, and I’ve rescheduled the shopping excursion for tomorrow morning. I’m not permitted to open a local bank account in the PI on a tourist visa, but Swan opened one in her name for me to use. So, I’ll be transferring funds to that account and using my local ATM card in the future. Which is not say I won’t have similar issues with the ATMs here, but at least I’ll be using a local card at a local bank.

That’s how we roll in paradise. The rest of Tuesday went in accordance with routine.

He’s featured early, so go see for yourself.

The usual relaxing vibe at TI, and some food:

Then we rolled on home and finished our Tuesday.

On to December 2016 in the LTG archives. In this post, I reflect on the first anniversary of losing my marriage and all that I had experienced since moving out on my own again. It wasn’t all bad. I decided after a two-month-long bender that drinking myself to death wasn’t the answer. Instead, I adopted a low-carb diet and a walking lifestyle and lost 60 pounds. I even got my heart broken again along the way. It only hurts until the pain goes away.

Another type of memory lane journey for today’s YouTube video. Remember Sears? It was a big deal to get the Sears catalog in the mail, and their stores were the anchors in the local malls. Then poof, they all went away. Malls in the USA are relics of the past now, but here in the PI, they are booming and popular places for social gatherings. One of the more interesting things about the self-inflicted demise of Sears was that they could have been Amazon before there was an Amazon.

And humor me with these:

So, I don’t like moderating comments here. If someone takes the time to share their thoughts on my posts, I’m all for approving them, whether or not I agree. But that’s the key: the comments should at least be vaguely related to something I’ve posted here. This week, I’ve been called antisemitic by one person and a bigot by another. I deny both assertions, and I challenge either of you to provide examples. Otherwise, you are just making shit up, and I won’t give your bullshit the light of day. How do you like them apples?

This is one of the songs that played on the floating bar yesterday. Hadn’t heard it in like forever:

Old routines die, new ones are born. And Sunday is still a fun day. We’ll get back to our candy walks next week after we restock the chocolate supply, but yesterday we did a Barretto street stroll and handed out lollipops to the children we encountered.

At the appointed hour, we headed for the beach…the one in Barretto.

Shortly after we boarded the Arizona floating bar, a motorboat appeared and tied up alongside.

It was nice to share drinks and the floating vibe with people we know.

We said our goodbyes to Frank and Ligaya and made our way to shore. Back in the olden times, our next stop would be John’s place for dinner. Now what will we do? I’ve decided the new Sunday routine will be dining in places we seldom visit. And since we were already at the Arizona Resort, we started there.

Back in my Barretto early days, the Arizona was one of my favorite places to eat. Ownership changed, and things went downhill (I understand it is for sale again), and I pretty much stopped going there for anything other than the floating bar. After perusing the menu, Swan and I both made selections from the Mexican section.

After dinner, we moved up the highway to Jumpin’ Jacks and got a warm welcome back from the staff. I was invited to play pool with one of the girls, but initially declined. Swan kept encouraging me to participate, so I relented. To make things more interesting, I told my opponent we’d play for twenty thousand. And I won, twice! It was actually the best pool I’ve played in a very long time. So yeah, maybe I’ll make playing an occasional game one of my new routines.

Oh, and about that 20,000…even though I won, I reached into my wallet and pulled out this:

Of course, I’m not a total cheap Charlie. I asked if she preferred a tip for playing with me or a lady drink. She chose the lady drink. It is one of those oddities of working as a bar girl. She makes a 70-peso commission on a lady drink, and I was offering her 100 pesos in cash, but since if they miss their LD quota, their pay is reduced, the drink is the better option.

We left Jumpin’ Jacks and caught a trike home to maintain our routine sleep schedule. And so went another Sunday.

Onward to November 2016 in the LTG archives. The first post of the month resolved the Eun Oke mystery. She even left a comment, which surprised me because I didn’t know she read the blog. In a weird twist, I got a message from Eun Oke a few weeks ago asking if she could come for a visit. Of course, that ship sailed long ago, but reading about her reasons for leaving (the age gap) made me smirk. She’s 52, and I’m 70 now. My new love is 40. Go figure. The post also recounts a sad Facebook memory from Jee Yeun. But life goes on. Until it doesn’t.

Today’s YouTube video is an interesting discussion on beggars in the Philippines. I NEVER give money to kids begging because I’d heard that was illegal. It was surprising to learn that giving to anyone who begs violates the law. Yikes! Well, I started giving to Mama, in part because she never asked. I guess maybe that makes it a donation. The other person I give to, I call the “crazy guy.” Rumor has it he is a druggie. I never give more than 50 pesos, so if he is drug-addicted, that ain’t gonna buy much dope. I wish I had never started with him, but now, when he sees me, he looks so desperate, I just want him to leave, so I pay him to go away. In addition to the lack of litter in Vietnam, I never saw one beggar or homeless person. The government there must be doing something right.

I know you’ve been begging to see today’s humor installment, so here it is:

So, it’s back to the Hash after missing the last two runs. The trail starts and finishes at the end of Rizal Extension, my least favorite location because of the inconvenience of getting there and then getting back down (not many trikes can make it that far uphill). So, I’ll be doing my own thing: walking from my house to the On-Home via the My Bitch trail, and then after the Circle starts, I’ll bail out and walk back to town before it gets dark. I’ll let you know how that works out for me tomorrow.

Didn’t do much yesterday other than recover from my travels, but it still feels nice to be home. It’s funny how just fifteen days can make everything seem almost new and different. I like that. I didn’t wake up until 6:30 and wasn’t feeling very energetic. So, I limited myself to the 4K neighborhood walk.

It dawned on me that I hadn’t had a beer for over two weeks. In the Philippines, I mean. When beer o’clock rolled around, I set about rectifying that. I decided to make it an aMAZEing night, starting at Sloppy Joe’s. Alas, the San Miguel Zero crisis continues, as none of the bars (or the Hash) can purchase that product from the distributor. I’m not sure what’s going on with that. Rumor has it the brand is being discontinued, but Google says the brewery has made no such announcement. So, it was San Miguel Light for me and red wine for Swan. We did share an order of crispy chicken wings to cushion our tummies.

Next stop, Green Room. All our old favorites were there for lady drinks to welcome us back. I settled in and had my usual good time watching some fine pool players work the table. Then we moved next door to Wet Spot for our nightcap, and shared some pasalubong (and lady drinks) with our pals Beth and Irene.

Sadly, we learned that one of our neighbors passed away last week.

One of the first things I noticed when we returned home was that it is chillier now than I ever remembered.

Then again, my last winter in Korea eight years ago provides some perspective:

The last post in the LTG archives from October 2016 was a bit of a surprise. It was mostly photos from the weekend, but I wasn’t expecting to see HER again:

For today’s YouTube video, we take a journey back in time to see what life was like growing up as a boomer. It was a nice stroll down memory lane for me. You youngsters can watch and see what you missed.

And now it’s time for your daily dose of lameness:

And now it is time to get on with the last Sunday of the first month of the year. I’ve ended the Hideaway feeding program, and John’s place is now closed, but the Arizona floating bar is operating, so I’ll start there and see what happens.

I woke up at 3 a.m. after having set my alarm for 4. It’s all good, that extra hour will let me dash out another worthless post here for anyone who cares about my yesterday. The big events were the Wednesday Walkers trek and packing. Then I had some beers at Red Bar, Cheap Charlies, and Wet Spot for dessert.

Let’s get to it:

A nightcap at Wet Spot, and some friends of Swan’s from Germany dropped by to join us. Had to bail on them early (though 8:30 is late for me) to be ready for today. And now today has arrived.

From the LTG August 2016 archives, I write about moving on with my life, poco a poco. I wasn’t quite as far along as I thought I was, but I was making steps in the right direction.

Here’s a YouTube video I haven’t had the chance to watch yet, but it seems relevant somehow. I’ll give it a view when I get to Vietnam and see if it saves me any money.

A quick stop in the Humor Department:

Alright then.

Gonna bake some muffins and take a shower, then load up in neighbor Jeff’s car for the drive to Manila. Next post will be from Da Nang!

Not much to my Tuesday as usual, but no complaints about that. Grocery shopping in the morning and the beach in the afternoon.

Good music, pleasant chat, cold beer, and nice views. Does it get any better than that?

But the food was good, as usual.

That’s all there was to it for my Tuesday.

Back in the August 2016 LTG archives, and it’s my first day back to work in my new old job. Got rid of most of my American life belongings, and also got an offer to buy my house. Life moves forward even when you are looking back.

Speaking of looking back, today’s YouTube video captures the essence of life in the 70s through photographs. Don’t it always seem to go that you don’t know what you got till it’s gone?

Time out for some memes:

And now it is time to get busy packing my bags. We are pulling out for Manila at 0500 tomorrow morning, so I need to be ready to roll. A two-week trip is a lot more challenging to pack for, especially when I’m used to having my laundry done once a week. Swan says we can have some clothes washed while we travel, so we’ll see how that works out.

Well, regular readers know how I roll through my Sunday routines, but things change occasionally, even if it’s not much of a change. Sweet stroll, floating bar, John’s place, Red Bar, Jumpin’ Jacks. What’s new and what’s missing? Read on!

As seen on the Sunday Sweets Stroll:

So, no Hideaway feeding, but in its place:

On to dinner at John’s place. I have to wonder if this was the last one. No wine for Swan, and many more items on the menu that are no longer available. It seems like they are intentionally not restocking food supplies and are trying to sell out as much as possible before closing. I hope I’m wrong about that, but I don’t think so. Still, if you are losing money, you don’t have much choice but to close it down. It’s just not the same without John there.

A visit to Red Bar after dinner, and then a nightcap at Jumpin’ Jacks brought the evening to a close.

We did stop at the print shop on the way home to get a copy of my Vietnam visa.

(deleted visa photo for privacy purposes)

The trike made it to the house without incident this time.

It’s the last day of July 2016 in the LTG archives. I gotta say, this journey through the past has been heartrending lately. Back in the states, my kids were selling the contents of my house for me, almost as if I had died. And in a way, I did. One life ending and another yet to begin. But I made it through the storm.

Today’s YouTube video discusses ten things you don’t want to carry when you travel. I watched it just to make sure I’m up to speed for my upcoming trip to Vietnam. I recall the first time I visited Thailand, I was still into vaping and carried several e-cig pens with me. Somehow, I made it through customs without incident. Later, I was standing on a street in Bangkok waiting for the light to change and puffing away. A foreigner came up to me and said, “Dude, vaping is illegal in Thailand. The police will arrest you for that!” Damn, guess I got lucky.

Let me wipe that smile off your face:

And now it is time to prepare for another Hash Monday.

Back tomorrow with a full report.

When the winter rains
Come pourin' down
On that new home of mine,
Will you think of me
and wonder if I'm fine?
Will your restless heart
Come back to mine
On a journey through the past.
Will I still be in your eyes
And on your mind?

Still plodding along on this road we call life. Yesterday morning we did our first Decay Dance (candy walk) in a couple of weeks. The break made revisiting the familiar path a little more refreshing than usual. But we did see some new things along the way that were not so pleasant.

Our evening on the town started with some liquid refreshments at It Doesn’t Matter—the usual laid-back atmosphere, sitting on the patio and watching the world go by. Trikes are part of the lifestyle here, like them or not. Some folks even name their trikes. Like this one:

When the hunger pangs hit, we moseyed up the highway to Jewel Cafe for our usual treats.

Overall, a disappointing dining experience this time.

We crossed the highway rife with weekend traffic and did our nightcap at Cheap Charlies. Other than them being out of Zero beer (as are most of the bars in town), things went fine. Enjoyed watching the street scenes down below from our third-floor vantage point and then grabbed a trike for the ride home.

Nothing like a bit of excitement at the end of the day.

Here’s how I exploded some lefty heads on Facebook today:

From the July 2016 LTG archives is another post about my comings and goings in the being single in Seoul chapter of my life. I tried to make the best of it, despite the aching in my heart.

For today’s YouTube video, we visit a Filipina vlogger who shares her thoughts on why there has been a dearth of tourists in the Philippines lately. According to her, it is mainly about a lack of value for the money. I agree that’s a big part of it.

How about some humor?

I hope I didn’t duplicate any memes today, but if I did, how much worse can it be than the first time you saw it? When your memory fades, everything old is suddenly new again!

Well, my definition of “fun” may differ from yours, but at least I’m easy to please. I woke up to a rainy morning, but that wasn’t going to stop me from making my first hike of the new year.

I had some business to attend to early in the afternoon: the annual Hash leadership meeting. All current officers were re-elected, the Hash made money last year, so there is no need to raise the fees, and we voted to allow drinking to begin at 3 p.m. instead of the current 3:30.

When the meeting concluded, I headed to Alley Cats bar and had some beers while I awaited Swan’s arrival. I didn’t make any formal New Year’s resolutions, but I do plan to buy a new set of darts and take up the game again. I won’t be a fanatic like I was in the old days, but playing in a tourney or two each week would be a nice addition to my other routines.

Swan arrived, had a glass of wine, and then we crossed the highway for dinner at Mango’s.

After our meal, we moved on to Gold Bar, one of the newer venues in town.

Some beer, wine, and a lady drink later, we moved down the road to Queen Victoria for our nightcap.

As days go, it wasn’t a bad one.

On to July 2016 in the LTG archives. In this post, I came to terms with where I was in life and also accepted the me I was. Looking back on it now, it was an acknowledgement that the life I had lived before was over, and the future life was up to me to build. And here I am.

Let’s check in with the Filipina Pea for today’s YouTube video. Pea shares twelve unique aspects of Filipino culture, although I hadn’t caught on to most of them even after all these years.

Hold on to your hat, because here they come:

That’s all I’ve got for today.

Or should I say, the best day so far this year? Honestly speaking, it wasn’t that great. The lingering effects from the late-night celebration to welcome the new year kept me housebound for most of the day. But when the clock struck beer o’clock, I dragged my sorry ass into town for the first time all year. I had initially thought I’d grab a stool at Cheap Charlies, but they were closed, as were several other drinking establishments. Sloppy Joe’s, a 24/7 operation, was open and waiting for me, thereby earning my patronage.

Swan had spent the day at the family compound in Subic, so I was drinking alone. Swan messaged that she would join me at Sloppy Joe’s around 6 pm. I was surprised when a trike pulled up out front and dropped Swan and three of her Hashmates off. Swan had joined them for some New Year’s Day revelry and invited them along so they could play pool. I’d had about enough of Sloppy by then, so we moved the party next door to Green Room.

I enjoyed watching Honey and Grace play pool; they are both excellent players. The gals were in party mode, and I didn’t want to be that old guy who spoils the fun, so I sat at my own table and sipped some San Miguel Light beers (yep, the bars are running out of Zero again). Still, all good things must end, and I pulled the plug around 8:30.

And that’s how the first day of the new year went down. I’m sure they’ll get better.

Some good chatter in the comments section about why tourism is down in the Philippines. This post from the June 2016 LTG archives shares my tourist experience in Manila when taking a taxi to the airport. These days, most folks use the Grab app to arrange transport, which is a good way to beat the taxi scammers.

On one of the internet forums I frequent, I came across this thorough post describing what’s wrong with tourism in the Philippines. It’s worth a read if you are interested in this subject.

Today’s YouTube video provides an update on Vitaly, that asshole vlogger who got arrested last year for harassing Filipinos to make content for his asshole vlog. It seems he’s not doing well in jail and the prospects of him getting out any time soon are slim to none. Being locked up in a Filipino jail is my worst nightmare and would be tantamount to a death sentence for me (you have to wait years for a trial date). It’s hard to feel sorry for a dick like Vitaly, but I do have empathy for what he is going through, even it is well-deserved.

Let’s clean the palate with some alleged humor:

Time to get on with whatever the future has in store for me. Thanks for coming by.

Out with the old and in with the new. I said goodbye to 2025 with a nice morning hike to the seldom-visited Tibag community. And then I attended the New Year’s Eve gathering in the penthouse suite at the Rooftop Hotel. All my contributions (chili, cornbread muffins, brownies) seemed to be enjoyed, judging by the fact that there were no leftovers.

The party started at 4 pm, and I was the first to arrive. The only time I see midnight these days is when I get up to pee, so I wasn’t expecting to be around when the new year arrived. Another complicating factor was that there was no Zero beer available, so I was drinking the more powerful San Miguel Light. I limited myself to one bottle every thirty minutes, and that seemed to help keep me standing. And lo and behold, I was still on the rooftop when the fireworks started exploding over the bay. Yep, 2026 began with a miracle!

Here’s the day in pictures:

And then it was time to party! Tim spends six weeks a year in the Philippines (Pennsylvania is his home) and always rents the penthouse at the Rooftop Hotel. It is by far the biggest and nicest hotel room I’ve ever seen, more like a fancy apartment with three bedrooms, three baths, and a large, fully equipped kitchen. I understand that it was once the residence of the hotel owner. It’s on the top floor of the hotel, and the views are quite nice.

Time passed, and then this happened:

And then I was done.

A nice way to end the year. Let’s see what the new one brings.

From the June 2016 LTG archives, I found myself unexpectedly in Manila for the weekend. I was coming home from a trip to Cebu and missed my connecting flight to Incheon. The airline couldn’t get me on another flight for two days, but they put me up in a decent hotel, and I got to do some exploring. I was still thinking of the Philippines as a potential retirement destination, but after this trip, I knew it wouldn’t be in Manila.

Today’s YouTube video is a short (4-minute) account of how the vlogger transitioned from being a visitor in the Philippines to it feeling like home. I’m approaching eight years here now, and I’ve still got only one foot firmly planted here. I just can’t seem to accept some of this culture’s norms, like noise and litter.

Let’s start the new year with a smile or three:

I’ve been a lazy shit and haven’t left the house all year so far. I’ll take a nap and see if I feel like going out later. Staying up until midnight kicked my ass.

Let me begin this post with an apology. Some readers have complained in the comments about being redirected to another website while trying to log on here at LTG. I contacted my blog host this morning in an effort to find out what the fuck is up with that. After jumping the usual hurdles, I was eventually connected with a human being. I explained the problem, and he came back with something about my storage disk being near capacity, along with a sales pitch to upgrade for additional space. I asked what that had to do with my readers being redirected, and he told me that, with my nearly full storage, there was insufficient space for SiteLock to search for and remove the problematic malware properly. He told me all my problems would go away if I added space on the disk for “only” $500 for two years. Having no other viable options, I consented.

Thank you for your patience today while we addressed the security concerns regarding your blog, mccrarey.com.

I am writing to confirm that we have successfully upgraded your account to the Pro 200 Plan. As we discussed, this provides the 200 GB of disk space necessary to bypass the storage limits that were hindering our security tools. With this “breathing room” now available, I have officially escalated Case #03872324 to our specialized SiteLock team.

Our security experts are now performing a deep-level manual scrub of your files and database to identify and remove the malicious scripts causing those gambling redirects.

Hopefully, I didn’t just get scammed.

Alright, then. Here’s what I remember about Tuesday. It’s my shopping day, and one of the morning routines I engage in is baking some breakfast muffins. I share them with my support team (Swan, our helper, the driver, and street urchin “Mama” when we see her). For whatever reason, I spaced out doing the baking until it was too late to complete the task prior to departure. Oh well, shit happens.

So, we were well on our way down the highway (like twenty minutes) when it suddenly dawned on me that I had forgotten to put my credit card in my wallet. Shit, I had no other way to pay for the groceries, so there was no alternative but to turn around and go fetch the card. My driver shrugged it off, but I wasn’t happy about this latest brain fart. I guess that’s just part of life in the 70s. At least I didn’t have a cart full of groceries at the checkout when I remembered I’d forgotten my card.

Other than the chocolate candies we give the kids still being out of stock, the shopping went fine. I was feeling lazy, so I skipped my usual neighborhood walk. Then I spent hours on a picture-filled post about the Sampaloc Cove Hash outing that didn’t generate the interest I expected. That’s okay, it is what it is.

It being Tuesday, next on the agenda was our regular weekly outing to Baloy Beach.

A bit later, we headed ashore for dinner at Treasure Island.

Home by our usual 8 pm and in bed shortly thereafter. My weary brain needs its rest.

From the June 2016 LTG archives is a post where I write about a writer who writes about Thailand. I hadn’t been there yet, but I found some of his stories on a Thailand-based website I followed (sorry, the links to those stories no longer work). Steve Rosse and I briefly became Facebook friends, and I purchased some of his books. Why aren’t we friends any longer? Welp, once Steve discovered I didn’t adhere to the leftist dogma, he blocked me. Stephen King is another good writer, but just as indoctrinated.

Today’s YouTube video is about a Brit who wound up homeless in the Philippines. I can’t believe people come to a third-world country and fuck it up for themselves, but it happens more often than it should.

Humor me:

And on that note, the final post of the year is nearly complete. I’ll be celebrating New Year’s Eve at Tim’s hotel (he’s Scott’s brother and visiting from the USA). I’ve got a crockpot full of chili to share. Also, some brownies in the oven, and if I don’t forget to bake them, a batch of cornbread muffins. I don’t expect I’ll be awake to see the new year arrive (the party starts at 4 pm), but you never know. I’ll let you know how it goes tomorrow.

Anyway, here’s a short recounting of my Saturday, um, as the crow flies dies.

We didn’t have any chocolates to dispense because ALL the stores (we visited several) are sold out. So, no candy bags but a few odds and ends to hand out. Not enough for the regular Decay Dance, so we just did an abbreviated walkabout.

It Doesn’t Matter Bar was having its end-of-year party at McCoy’s on Baloy Beach. We dropped by, but things were already well underway; there was nowhere to sit, and no more Zero or Light beers. That’s what happens when you arrive late. I dropped off the sweets (muffins and lollipops) I’d brought, then headed up the beach for Treasure Island.

Neighbors Jeff and Davina were having a family outing at Treasure Island, and several others had joined in the fun, so we did too.

It was well after dark when home beckoned. When I got my tab, it said I had drunk 14 San Miguel Zeros. I’m not sure that was right, but I was in no position to argue about it, so I paid. And just to be clear, I was on my feet and doing fine. We even had to walk a bit before finding a trike. Back at the house, I put some yogurt on a brownie for dessert, played some solitaire on the laptop, and had no trouble once I hit the sack.

I had a weird dream (aren’t they all?) just before waking up, that I actually remember. The details are fuzzy, but basically, it involved a transgender man being ridiculed by a group of individuals in a public setting. I defended the tranny by shouting out that he has the right to live as he chooses (notably, I did not do that pronoun thing). When I thought about the dream, it was not inconsistent with my usual modus operandi. The tranny wasn’t invading any female spaces (which I vehemently oppose) or engaging in any other untoward behavior. So, live and let live is fine by me, unless and until you cross the line and let your insanity impact others around you. Anyway, it was a weird thing to dream about.

Facebook memories took me back to this day in 2017. I was visiting the Philippines, and a Manila gal I’d been chatting with for a while met me at the airport when I landed.

It’s still May 2016 in the LTG archives, and in this post, I write about closing more doors as I worked to escape the trauma of my broken marriage. It only hurts until the pain goes away.

For today’s YouTube video, I share some of this vlogger’s perspectives on what a bad day really looks like. I noted that he took some heat in the comments for parts of his commentary and video structure (like that gal on the balcony who didn’t encounter any disasters other than being clickbait). Still, I was there for the action shots of destruction and wasn’t disappointed.

You gotta laugh, or at least try and smile:

Whatever it means, I’m outta here for now. Rumor has it that the Arizona floating bar is back in operation, so I’ll be checking that out. According to their Facebook page, John’s place will be open today, so we’ll be dining there. And then we shall see what happens.