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.

At least until next year.

So, the last Friday of 2025 started with the group hike.

Since it was only Scott and me, and Scott had his car, we took a drive to the seldom-visited countryside out Mangan-Vacca way and commenced our hike. Scott reminded me that our last time out here was in April, that we’d gotten lost, and he had nearly collapsed from exhaustion and dehydration. He’s not sure if that incident triggered his stroke a week later, but the memories are intertwined.

After that pleasant start to the day, when beer o’clock rolled around, Swan was hungry, so we headed for Jewel Cafe. Upon arrival, there was a sign on the door saying that, due to unforeseen circumstances, they would be closed until Saturday. I suggested Myleen’s as an alternative, but as we walked past It Doesn’t Matter, we decided we could eat and drink there. Talk about killing two birds with one stone! The food was good, and the beer was cold, so that was a win.

I suggested Cheap Charlies for our nightcap, but we could see from the street that it was crowded upstairs, so we kept walking to Wet Spot. Met an interesting expat who lives in San Antonio, and we had an enjoyable chat. It seems he’s become disillusioned with the Philippines after many years here and is planning his escape, with Vietnam being his first choice. He hadn’t heard about Dave Fisher’s passing, so I had to share that sad news with him. Anyway, it was a nice night out on the town.

Still plowing through the May 2016 LTG archives, and came upon the sad post about my dear friend Bridget Werner’s passing. She was one of the most unique personalities I’ve encountered over the course of my life, and I still miss her wit and wisdom. What the balls, Bridget! You left us way too soon.

I don’t usually read posts from people I don’t know on Facebook, but for some reason I read this long-ass thing today, and it resonated. It ends with these words:

Don’t wait for someone to make room for you where you don’t belong. The map is wide. The road is long. And the best seat in the house is wherever you decide to stop.

I’ll paste the rest at the end of this post. You can read it or not there at your leisure.

I also came across this article, which says that any amount of marijuana use is bad for teenagers. Well, I smoked pot regularly from age fifteen until my twenties. That may explain a lot, like my inability to use proper grammar. Heh, that reminds me of the time in high school when I went to my English class after smoking a joint at lunchtime. We had to write an essay in the classroom that day, so I wrote about having to write an essay while stoned. To her credit, the teacher recognized me for my honesty, and I got a passing grade. Ah, life is full of memories up until the time you forget them.

Today’s YouTube video reveals the disgusting things going on inside your body while you sleep. I found it interesting; you may too. I feel kind of bad for all the interruptions I cause when I get up to pee every hour or so.

On to what I claim is humor:

And now it is onward to whatever adventure the rest of Saturday holds in store for me.

Here’s that Facebook post I mentioned above:

I was erased from my daughter’s life with a phone call that lasted less than thirty seconds.

I stood in my driveway, November wind cutting through my jacket, fingers stiff around a cooler packed with homemade smoked venison jerky. Two days before Thanksgiving. Behind me sat The Beast—my restored 1978 emerald-green pickup, polished for months until the chrome reflected the sky. I’d planned to drive seven hundred miles to Chicago.

Barnaby, my twelve-year-old Blue Tick Coonhound, was already buckled into the passenger seat, his red holiday bandana tied just right. His tail thumped happily. He knew the cooler meant one thing.

We were going to see The Girl.

Then my phone buzzed.

“Dad,” Emily said. Her voice wasn’t warm. It was tight, rushed, layered with the clatter of keyboards behind her. “Plans changed. Mark’s CEO is coming for dinner. It’s… important. A big networking thing.”

My hand froze on the icy door handle.

“That’s okay,” I said gently. “I packed my navy suit—the one from your graduation.”

“No, Dad—listen,” she interrupted quickly, as if speeding through it would dull the impact. “It’s crowded. And the new house has white wool carpets. Very… intentional. With Barnaby, and your stories—you know how loud they get—it might be better if you stayed at a hotel this time. And maybe boarded Barnaby? There’s a kennel off the interstate.”

The silence between us roared louder than the wind.

She wasn’t just asking me to stay elsewhere. She was editing her life for an audience—and I didn’t fit the aesthetic. The grease permanently etched into my hands. The old truck that smelled like pine and fuel. The hound who snored like a freight train.

We were clutter.

“Don’t worry about it, Em,” I said, keeping my voice steady while something caved in behind my ribs. “I actually forgot—I’ve got a tractor transmission to fix here. Probably shouldn’t leave town anyway. You all have a wonderful night.”

“Oh.” She sounded relieved. That hurt the most. “Okay. That works. We’ll FaceTime. Love you, Dad.”

The call ended.

Barnaby let out a low, mournful howl and rested his chin on the dashboard. He didn’t know the words—but he understood.

“Well, buddy,” I said, climbing into the cab and slamming the heavy door shut. “Looks like Chicago’s off the list.”

I sat there, engine idling, staring at the GPS on my phone.

Six hours, forty-two minutes. Blue line. Efficient. Sterile.

I reached into the glove box and pulled out something I hadn’t used in years—a battered paper road atlas. Its edges were soft as cloth. I opened it, breathing in the scent of ink and old paper.

“You know what?” I traced a line west with my thumb. Away from snow. Away from white carpets. Away from shrinking myself. “Let’s go see that big hole in the ground Mom always wanted to see.”

I tossed my phone face-down and shifted into gear.

We avoided interstates where everyone drives like they’re being chased. We took back roads—two-lane highways curling through towns with named water towers and people who still wave at strangers.

We ate at roadside diners where the menus were sticky and the waitresses called you “Sugar” without irony. I shared my hash browns with Barnaby. Nobody minded. In Missouri, a tattooed kid admired the truck and asked about carburetors. We talked for an hour. No screens. Just people.

For the first time in years, I didn’t feel outdated.

I felt alive.

Late on the second day, near the edge of New Mexico, the weather turned. Rain and sleet slicked the road. The sky bruised purple and black.

That’s when I saw them—a modern sedan on the shoulder, hazards blinking weakly. Miles from anywhere.

I pulled over.

A young woman stood shivering beside the car. A little girl pressed her tear-streaked face to the window.

“No service,” the woman said, panicked. “The GPS sent us this way. The car just died. We’re trying to get to Phoenix.”

I nodded. “Pop the hood.”

Plastic everywhere. Computers and covers. But an engine is still an engine. I spotted it fast—a snapped belt.

“I can fix it,” I said.

I didn’t have the right part—but I had ingenuity, duct tape, and time.

“Barnaby,” I said. “Light.”

The old dog trotted over and held the flashlight in his mouth, perfectly still, tail thumping softly.

When the engine came back to life, the woman cried. Tried to hand me money.

“Buy her hot chocolate,” I said. “Stick to the main road.”

She took a photo—me, grease-stained, Barnaby proud beside me—against the endless desert.

Thanksgiving night found us parked at the edge of Grand Canyon.

No fancy dinner. Something better.

A small fire. Beans warming. Jerky for Barnaby. Sage-scented air and ancient silence.

My phone buzzed. Emily.

I answered.

Behind her were suits, wine glasses, white carpets. Too bright. Too stiff.

I turned the camera.

The fire.

The truck.

Barnaby sleeping on a blanket.

Then the sky—stars spilling across the heavens like diamonds.

“I’m at the table,” I said quietly.

She stared. Then softened. “It’s beautiful, Dad. I… I miss you.”

“I miss you too,” I said. “But we’re okay. We found our place.”

After the call, I leaned against the truck and watched the fire die down.

I realized I’d spent years waiting for permission to belong—trying to fit into a life that no longer fit me.

But you spend the first half of your life building a home for others.

The second half is learning that you are the home.

I didn’t need a chair in a room where I was afraid to spill something. I had the open road. I had the stars. I had the keys.

Don’t wait for someone to make room for you where you don’t belong.

The map is wide.

The road is long.

And the best seat in the house is wherever you decide to stop.

My neighbor Mike celebrated his 78th birthday yesterday and invited us to join in the celebration he hosted. I understand some Hispanic guy named Jesus also had a birthday on the 25th, although he’s quite a bit older.

Mike’s an interesting guy. We grew up in the same town in Southern California, Westminster. We attended the same high school, but, since he was eight years older, we never met. Mike is also a Vietnam War veteran, and yesterday he shared a photo album of his two tours of duty on the battlefield. During that time, he earned two Purple Hearts and was awarded the Bronze Star for his bravery. After returning home and recovering from his wounds, Mike became a well-known music promoter and worked with numerous famous bands and musicians. He had some amazing photos from those days as well.

After he retired, he lived in Brazil for several years before settling here in the Philippines. And now he lives less than a block from my house. It is indeed a small world after all.

The party started at 2 pm, and folks started heading out around 4:30. But the fun wasn’t done, as some of us reconvened for a nightcap at Thumbstar Bar around 6 pm.

It was a good Mikesmas.

From the May 2016 LTG archives is a post about my attending the wedding of my friends Mat and Sohee.

Tellingly, the post included this:

I do admit that I’ve become somewhat cynical at weddings these days.  During the vows, I recalled similar words from my most recent soon-to-be ex-wife.  I muttered “promises, promises” under my breath…

Sadly, Mat and Sohee divorced a couple of years later. Subsequently, Sohee committed suicide.

Speaking of the not-yet-ex wife, she sent me a Christmas message saying she still thinks of me and is sorry for letting me go. Yeah, thanks for that. Ten years too late.

I also heard from my daughter and she sent me this:

Today’s YouTube video is another one of those warnings about retiring in the Philippines if you are not financially prepared to do so. Sadly, common sense isn’t too common these days.

And before I go:

Had enough? Me too!

We went all the way out to San Antonio for our Wednesday hike this morning and didn’t get back to Barretto until just now. And man, am I tired! Too tired to blog today, so consider that your Christmas gift. I’ll try to get you caught up on things from here tomorrow.

Just a song before I go:

Another day in the life is in the books, so why not on the blog? Don’t worry, there wasn’t much to it.

We did our weekly Decay Dance, passing out candy to the children of San Isidro. I only took one photo this time, but it captured the three things that make the Philippines so special:

Later in the day, as I made my way to the Hideaway feeding, I saw something that made me think of Kevin Kim’s love of abandoned gloves.

The feeding went as usual, with the gals’ hunger finally satiated.

Then it was time to meet up with Swan at John’s place for dinner. Swan was already there when I arrived. The cook came out to tell Swan that the birria meat was not available from the supplier, but she had held back enough for one more order in anticipation of Swan’s visit. She also revealed that John’s was going to be closing at the end of the year. We asked John’s daughter whether they would be open next Sunday, but she wasn’t sure. So, it may have been our final meal at John’s place last night.

I’m going to miss the dining experience at John’s place.

After our meal, we did the usual stops at Red Bar and Jumpin’ Jacks. Spread some Christmas joy (cash) to our waitress friends, which put smiles on their faces. Played a couple of games of pool and got my ass kicked, but it was nice to be participating rather than just observing. I’m planning to do more of that in the New Year.

From the April 2016 LTG archives is this remembrance of a bargirl in Itaewon who rejected me twice–ten years apart. The post title is “The more things change, the more they remain the same.” I had to smile at that because it took a long time for things to change, even after I moved to the Philippines. Although Filipinas are more receptive to old men than Korean gals seem to be. I recall feeling invisible once I turned 60.

Speaking of change, in today’s YouTube video, Reekay says money rules will be changing in 2026. I’m no expert, but my own transactions are limited and relatively simple. My pension goes into my USA bank account, and I withdraw cash from ATMs when I need it. I use wire services (Wise works well for me) to transfer funds to other accounts, like Swan and my landlord. Hopefully, I won’t have to adopt and adapt to new methods.

Humor time:

Today is the annual Hash Candy Walk. We’ll be traversing the streets of Barretto, handing out sweets to the kids we encounter. I’m technically one of the Hares, but there was no trail to mark. Pubic Head mapped out our route, and we’ll do a “follow the Santa” routine. I’ll let you know how that works out tomorrow.

Maybe it’s just a coincidence, but I also found this Nancy Pelosi meme:

Speaking of feeding, we did our annual charity outreach event yesterday in the village of Mampueng, Barangay Old Cabalan, out in the wilds of Olongapo. Two hundred hungry families were provided with a bag of rice and other staples, as well as a meal of spaghetti and chicken. This is the third year I’ve helped sponsor this event, and it always feels good to spread some joy to those in need.

With the handouts taken care of, it was time for a hike. We hired a couple of locals as tour guides and headed out. None of us were feeling up to a 2-hour hike to the Mampueng Falls (one of the guides looked at me and said, “he’s too old”), but we still enjoyed a nice 3K walkabout.

Most of the group opted to stay at the river and set up camp; the remaining four of us marched on.

Made it back to our campsite, where the gals had grilled some sausages and other items were ready for lunchtime dining.

Back home, safe and sound, where I napped and blogged, then prepared myself for a Saturday evening in Barretto. Annex Bar to kick things off, then some dinner at Sit-n-Bull, and a nightcap at Gold Bar brought the day to an end. It was a good one.

In the April 2016 LTG archives is this post where I weigh in on my religious beliefs. I had stirred up some controversy at work when I wrote on the blog about Mohammad being a pedophile. What else do you call someone who marries a nine-year-old? It occurred to me that getting attacked for my opinion was tantamount to criticizing my religion. The same alleged offense for which I was being harassed. This post was intended to forthrightly declare that my religion requires me to be critical of other religions. I’m glad I didn’t have to sue anyone for religious discrimination.

For today’s YouTube video, let’s check in with a vlogger who thought buying into a beach bar would be a good idea. After losing 3.6 million pesos ($60,000), he realized it wasn’t a smart plan after all. I watched this because I’ve fantasized about opening a nice beach bar here in Barretto, but I know the dream would likely turn into a nightmare. Who needs the headache?

I don’t know, maybe someone will find these humorous:

Okay, time to get on with my Sunday routines.