Turning the page on another month. It may all be the same old, same old, but it’s a brand new day and the first of July. I’ll take it!
The rent is paid. Sent the Western Union wire transfer to the landlady’s bank account yesterday, woke up to a thank you and a receipt from her this morning. Easy peasy.
Spread some Joy today and paid her rent too. It was our mutual pleasure.
Last night, I said my farewell to Jessa at Dive In. I hope everything in her new life is a dream come true for her.
It being Wednesday, I scored my Korean-style chicken wings from The Pub on the way home.
Slapped them on a plate with some kimchi and chowed down.A slice of pecan pie for dessert and I went to bed a satisfied man.
You are correct and I acknowledge: there is nothing of substance in this post. It may be a new day in a new month, but I’m the same old blogger. Sorry about that! Perhaps I can at least put a smile on your face with this:
Well, assuming “saddle” is an appropriate metaphor for hiking shoes. Yep, back on trail today for the first time since last Friday. Troy was working out the details of the torture he’ll put us through at next week’s Hash, but I hung in there for most of it. The group was heading down the mountain, then up another one and I didn’t want to push my luck. So, I went the opposite direction and made my way home alone. Imagining all the tragedies that could befall me with one false step kept me alert and I got done safely.
The good news is I don’t seem to have suffered any repercussions after a challenging two-hour hike. My walking is mostly pain-free, but the leg is still sensitive to the prods and jabs from sticks and branches I’d bump into occasionally. I’d say the swelling is down three quarters now, so that’s good progress. I’m glad my helper was able to secure the meds I needed without a prescription. It’s nice to be almost normal again.
I got a late start to my out and about last night, so I just did a short time visit to Mango’s. The waitress was shocked when I got up to leave after only three beers. Maybe she thought I was sick or something. Heh.
This law enforcement officer was stationed on the beach right outside Mango’s for most of the time I was there. Not sure why……but maybe we were enjoying the same view.
Today I’m back on schedule and I plan to make a final visit to see Jessa at Dive-In before she departs the bar and begins her new life, a life that won’t include me. Nor should it! I had my chance.
In the memory department, here’s a photo of my brother’s wedding:
That’s my now 45 year 0ld daughter swinging on the railing in the background. It’s hard to believe that I’m really this damn old. Don’t get me wrong, I ain’t in any hurry to leave this life just yet.
Alright, let me slap up a few pics from today’s hike and then we can all get on with doing something else.
A lot of the fellas dropped out of today’s adventure, which left us with a female majority. Don’t think that’s ever happened before.The first of four scheduled climbs (I completed three). They were all relatively moderate and not too long.A nice view for a hazy day…That’s two of our newbies, Grace, and Jean. Grace brought Jean along to meet me. We met. I don’t think anything clicked for either of us.I’m not expert, but that looks like an eggplant.The young woman on the left is my newest Facebook friend, Jie An. Today on trail she told me “you are old and slow.” I said I’m sure you mean I’m experienced and know how to take my time. I don’t think she got it because she just walked on.I was on my own by the time I passed within sight of Easter mountain.
A busier than normal Tuesday for me, although I guess that’s not saying much. Here’s what’s happening:
One issue with the new apartment has been a loud noise emanating from my bedroom aircon. The bizarre thing is I’ve never actually turned it on. The problem arises because the upstairs apartment has the exact same floor plan as mine. Which means the upstairs aircon is directly above mine.
See what I mean?
Shouldn’t be a big deal, but the problem is these a/c units discharge a lot of water. That water drops down on top of the steel casing of my unit which creates a reverberating percussion sound, not unlike a drummer’s cymbal. Surprisingly loud too–loud enough to make it hard for me to sleep. I actually tried putting a pillow over my head to block the sound, but that didn’t work. I put my headphones on and tried to sleep listening to music, but that created a whole other level of distraction that precluded a peaceful night’s rest.
So, I had the bright idea of putting a cover over my aircon so the dripping water from above wouldn’t land loudly on top of the metal housing. Putting that idea into practice wasn’t so easy though. I’m the ground floor apartment, but with the basement below I’m actually the equivalent of the second floor. That made access to the a/c unit from outside pretty nigh impossible since I don’t possess a ladder. Then I realized I could remove the aircon from the inside, and apply the needed tarpaulin. With the assistance of my basement helper’s boyfriend, we got it done.
Exciting times, eh? It ain’t real pretty and it doesn’t entirely eliminate the echo from the dripping water, but now at least it sounds more like a soft rain and I can sleep to that.
At least the electric coop gave us advance notice of this power outage:
Well, it is 4:30 now and I’m still in the dark…Hilarious! Right as I typed that line the power came back on. Thank you, Zameco!
Anyway, since I didn’t see much point in sitting around in the dark all day I decided to do my grocery shopping at S&R in San Fernando. S&R is kinda sorta like Costco, although a little less organized. It had been six months since my last visit so I figured, why not? Sometimes you can find things that aren’t available at the local grocery stores. The problem is that it is a major pain in the ass. An hour and half to get there and my driver charged 3500 pesos ($70). So, I did get a few things I’d been craving but overall, probably not worth the trip.
I’m sure I’ll be enjoying this pecan pie with some vanilla ice cream tonight.Sometimes I can’t find ANY BBQ sauce locally, so I stocked up on my favorite Sweet Baby Ray’s.
And it looks like I might be investing in a bar. A Filipina friend has been wanting to open a place featuring Filipino favorite foods. Her business model will include preparing meals for the bargirls and delivering them to the bars. She needs some start-up capital and I’m a known sucker I guess. Actually, I think she can make a go of it, even in these tough times. The best deal we found on a building was a very small bar that has been closed for over a year now. We looked at it this afternoon and it appears to be a good fit. Coincidentally, she worked in and managed that bar several years ago. So, maybe this is completing the circle. I might have a beer there now and then, but I AM NOT taking on any responsibility for running the place. Other than the purchase price that is.
They say a fool and his money are soon parted. But, I’m not investing more than I can afford to lose and this is the kind of charity I like–something that is potentially life-changing. Whether it works out or not is all on her, of course. I’m just providing an opportunity.
Told you it was small.Not sure there is even room for a dartboard.
It has a small kitchen that with some rearranging ought to be adequate for her needs. There is also a small studio apartment upstairs she can live in. The building rent is 12,000 pesos a month, which is a bargain for a location on the National highway. It won’t be a big stretch to make enough profit on food to cover the rent. And who knows, maybe she can bring back some of the old regulars.
I suggested naming it “The Rite Spot”. We’ll see what happens.
Enjoyed an evening out on SBMA (the old Navy base) last night. It was good to have a break from the Barretto scene for a change. We started out at the Lighthouse resort hotel. The bar there features a buy one, get one, happy hour. The ridiculous thing is that beers were 120 pesos each ($2.40) which is higher than any bar I’ve seen in these parts. Of course, with the two for one, the price is more reasonable at 60 pesos. That’s what Cheap Charlies charges. So, when you ordered a beer they brought a coupon for a free beer. I couldn’t understand why they didn’t just say beer is 60 pesos during happy hour. Would have made it easier on everyone. That’s the Philippines!
A very scenic location to enjoy libations.Not sure why this place is called the Lighthouse.Some of my drinking companions.
When it came time for me to pay up, they tried to double charge me. I convinced the cashier that wasn’t going to happen. Probably an honest mistake–the servers never took names and had to sort through all the tickets to figure out who owed what.
Our next stop was a restaurant up the road called Black Tail. I’d never been, but members of our group spoke highly of it. There were twelve at our table and the place was really hopping with other customers. Service was good, the kitchen slow, but that’s understandable given the volume of meals that needed to be prepared.
My dining companions.
I ordered the filet mignon. It was very reasonably priced at around ten dollars. It tasted just fine, what little there was of it. Guess it is true that you get what you pay for.
More like an appetizer than a meal if you ask me…
Anyway, it was a good time and I am glad I was able to participate.
From the Facebook memories feature today is this golden oldie:
“Are you sure the baby is mine?”
That would have been 2010 or so and that old fat guy was destined to die a painful death just five years later. Of course, the new and improved version of myself is still in the game!
I am not feeling well today for some reason. I injured my right leg in a fall about a month ago and it has been slowly healing ever since. Or at least I thought it was. This morning I awoke to pain and swelling and I have no idea why. I’ve sent helper to the drug store for some antibiotics, assuming my self-diagnosis of infection is correct. Walking is a little painful but my main complaint is I once again am suffering from a lack of energy. That could be a problem because I’m one of the Hares tomorrow. As of now, I plan to suck it up and fulfill my duties and responsibilities to the Hash.
And that brings you up to date on my life in the Philippines. Oh, a friend was planning to travel back to the USA in August so he signed up for a vaccination at the Barretto barangay office. They called and said come on down. He asked which vaccine it was and they responded sinovac, the almost worthless shot from China. He told them “no, thanks” and canceled his flight. I’m with him, no hurry to get vaccinated but when I do it won’t be from the same fuckers who created the pandemic.
A sucker is born every minute is as true now as it ever was.
Well, technically, we haven’t had a first dance–horizontally or vertically. Yet. Perhaps we never will. That’s the somewhat ambiguous outcome of my meeting yesterday with .
I met MJ last year during one of our group hikes. She lives up on the mountain at the very end of Rizal Extension. In fact, the My Bitch trail passes by her place. Her three kids reside with her there as well. I’ve mentioned MJ in passing a couple of times here at LTG, but I really don’t know her well at all. We’ve become Facebook friends and will occasionally like each other’s posts, but otherwise, I’ve only had an occasional brief chat when she’s home as we go hiking by. So, all told maybe three or four times since we’ve met.
That’s MJ as seen on one of our hikes.Two of MJ’s half-American kids. I bring them cookies, of course.I love the view from MJ’s place. Her “house” not so much.
So, as I said, I don’t know a lot about her. Hiking buddies Scott and Dave filled me in on some of her history. Back in the day, she worked in the Barretto bar scene. She eventually wound up in a relationship with an American bar manager named Denny, who fathered at least two of her children. He later left her for another woman and moved to Angeles City. Denny eventually moved back to the USA but apparently still sent some financial support for his kids. A few months ago I saw that MJ had updated her status on Facebook to “in a relationship.” That’s pretty much the extent of what I knew about her prior to our meeting yesterday afternoon.
You may be wondering how this meeting with a relative stranger came about. Well, I was surprised to get a message out of the blue from MJ on Thursday. After some small talk, she asked if I knew of any bars that are hiring. I named a couple of places that might be looking for help. She mentioned that she’s 35 years old now, which admittedly is pretty ancient for the bar biz. I asked why she was looking for work and she told me that Denny had recently died and she was no longer receiving support. She talked about the stress she was under worrying about how she was going to feed and take care of her kids. I offered my sympathies and for some reason asked her if she’d like to meet up. She immediately agreed and we set a date for Friday at 2:00. I asked her where she wanted to get together and she said T-Rose. I told her that’s fine, but the bar is now named It Doesn’t Matter.
After the chat with MJ, I had a WTF are you doing conversation with myself. I mean, it was clear that MJ needed help from someone, but I wondered about both of our motivations and expectations. There was only one way to find that out, so the meeting was on. Going in, I knew I was prepared to offer MJ some short-term relief. Beyond that, I wasn’t so sure. And what was she looking for? My mind was all over the map on that one, especially my dirty mind. One example: Why did she choose It Doesn’t Matter (T-Rose) to meet? Could it be because there is a short-time hotel right across the street? Hmm. So many possibilities!
I was pleased when MJ arrived as scheduled. I really don’t like “Filipina time”, or as they call it back home, being fashionably late. She parked her motorbike and joined me at the outside bar, I offered her a drink, and she said “coffee”. And then we got down to business. MJ thanked me again for meeting with her. She talked about her isolated life on the mountain. It’s beautiful up there and she loves planting in her garden, but she has no friends to talk with about her stress and worry up on the mountaintop. I assured her I was happy to be an understanding ear. She explained more about her situation. Apparently, she owns a pretty nice piece of property (I assume Denny bought it for her) more than just the lot her house sits on. She said she might try and sell a portion of that land to generate some cash. She said she is also trying to sell her appliances, including a recently purchased refrigerator. I was sympathetic, but did tell her those were short term fixes and in the long run she’d need to develop a consistent cash income. I told her about the situation in the bars and even if she finds a job, until tourists return she won’t be making much money. I also mentioned that working late into the night and then making the trip back up the mountain wouldn’t be easy. You can reach her place on a scooter, but I wouldn’t want to in the dark. MJ also said her mother was available to watch her kids if she was working.
I asked MJ if she had a Filipino boyfriend (lots of the women here do, even the ones with foreigner boyfriends) and she indignantly said “no!”, indicating that she had never been with a Filipino and didn’t like them. Okay, then. I mentioned I had seen her “in a relationship” status on Facebook and asked who that was. She told me it was an 80 year old Australian she had never met in person and that he too had recently died. I asked her if she was on any of the dating sites and she said she wasn’t. I suggested a couple of them to her and told of some gals I know are getting money sent to them from guys they met online. Maybe she could try that. I asked if she had any other skills besides bar work, using massage as an example. MJ said that she had been trained as a masseuse in the past. I told her that might be a better fit than the bars are currently. I said I might even be interested in being a customer.
Of course, that triggered my dirty mind again. I glanced across the street at the hotel and the devil on my left shoulder said “why not, she’s desperate.” The angel on my right shoulder told me “c’mon, you’re better than that!” So, I handed MJ the 2500 pesos I had come prepared to give her, no strings attached. She got teary-eyed as she thanked me. I told her this was just a way to help her get started, but she needed to find some longer-term solutions to her situation. She thanked me again for the money and for listening to her and I told her I was glad to help. There’s also a grocery store across the street, and after saying our goodbyes, she headed over there.
She came back carrying this.
MJ sent a message after she got back home thanking me again and sent this photo of her bounty:
Looks like the kids won’t be going hungry.
So, that’s how the meeting went. I suppose it sounds anti-climatic after the teaser in yesterday’s post. In my defense, I didn’t know for sure there wouldn’t be a climax involved at the time.
I guess my takeaways from the meeting are that MJ is a sincere woman facing a tough road ahead. I’m certainly in no position to be her savior. I’m glad I got the opportunity to know her a little better. I’m not, however, physically or emotionally attracted to her. So, I won’t be the replacement boyfriend. I may consider offering her a spot in my “friends with benefits” program though. My masseuse vacancy remains unfilled. We’ll see.
And here we are facing another Saturday night. I’m actually getting together with some friends for drinks and dinner on the old Navy base. Something a little different for a change!
Perhaps I’ll even get my COVID shots while I’m there…
Yesterday’s big adventure was taking a trip out to the mall in Olongapo. My main mission was to get my eyes examined. I’ve been having trouble of late reading text on the monitor (sometimes having to close one eye to focus) so I knew something wasn’t right. I also wanted to find a different optometrist. I’ve been going to the same shop since getting new glasses while here as a tourist in 2017. My last examination was a year or more ago and at that time I was told my eyesight hadn’t changed since the previous exam. I don’t know, but this last pair of glasses has never seemed quite right.
Anyway, I liked the optometrist this time who seemed much more thorough and organized. I didn’t like hearing that my right eye had a “growth” that needs to be removed. I guess a cataract isn’t unusual at my age but I’m loathe to have someone at a third rate clinic operating on my eyes. We’ll see. Or maybe we won’t.
I thought this sign was pretty funny, but it’s a good thing I suppose that I am, in fact, a Juan.
My new progressive lenses might take up to three weeks to arrive I’m told. This prescription is stronger than the last one, at least for that troublesome right eye.
Once I arrived back in Barretto, I popped into Cheap Charlies for some liquid refreshment. Once again, I was besieged by thirsty bargirls. That’s getting pretty irritating and I left sooner than I normally would have as a result. Moved up the road to Mango’s where they don’t have drinky and desperate waitresses.
I’d rather have the view anyway.
Another benefit to Mango’s is I like the food a lot better. Had my favorite again last night.
How do you like them chops?
This is an abbreviated post because I have a meeting to attend this afternoon. No idea how this is going to play out, but you can read all about it here tomorrow.
In the meantime, I was stunned, startled, aghast, taken aback, stupefied, confused, shocked, rattled, paralyzed, dazed, bewildered, mixed up, surprised, awed, dumbfounded, nonplussed, flabbergasted, astounded, amazed, confounded, astonished, overwhelmed, horrified, numbed, speechless, and perplexed when I saw this cartoon:
Take these past 24 hours for example. Sitting down just now to write this, I couldn’t help noticing lazy Lucky chillin’ out on the couch:
So, where’s that other lazy mutt, Buddy?
Ah, snoozin’ on the balcony. It’s a dog’s life!
I started things out with breakfast this morning at Sit-n-Bull:
Bacon, eggs, and pancakes. Damn it was good!
I eat so Kevin Kim doesn’t have to! Speaking of eating, I did my Wednesday Korean wings takeout from The Pub again last night. I’ll eat the leftovers for lunch as soon as I finish this post. How’s that for motivation to stay on point and focused?
The highlight of my night was my visit to Dive In and spending some quality time with Jessa and the girls. As I mentioned before, Jessa will be quitting the bar soon to start her new life with the boyfriend. Or more accurately, her fiancé. She showed me some photos of the house they’ll share which is currently under construction. He’s also going to adopt her daughter. It’s like a dream come true and I’m sincerely very happy for her. I couldn’t help but think that things do seem to happen for a reason. I was never really sure why it didn’t work out for me and Jessa. I think she’s a great gal but I could never seem to let myself go and be the man she wanted and needed me to be. I don’t harbor any regrets, I’ve done that married and houses thing before (four times!) and it never worked out. I’m just not willing or able to go there again. I’m really glad that Jessa didn’t waste her time on me and has now found a good man to provide for her and her daughter.
I was the only customer and I guess I was in a celebratory mood. I bought Jess and the other two waitresses several drinks. Also let them order themselves some dinner on me. They went with crispy pata, a very popular Filipino dish consisting of pork leg. It looks like this:
I didn’t partake as I was saving myself for my wing night.
So, I was a big spender in the bar last night. It’s not something I do all that often, but it felt like a special occasion. Who knows when or if I’ll see Jessa again. It was $60. well spent.
And that leaves the Wednesday Walkers hike to report on. Although it rained early in the morning, the skies had cleared by the time we departed. We once again caught a Jeepney, this time to the far side of Subic-town. We did a 5K loop trail that took us over one moderate climb and through some beautiful backcountry. Most of the hike was new to me and I always enjoy looking at new scenery. Here are some photos (credit to Scott and others for a lot of these) for your viewing pleasure:
The path we walked.The dirty dozen.We are off!Through the flat lands……and farm fields.Our destination.We got this.Moving forward with confidence and purpose!Let the climbing begin…On up.A beautiful day to be outdoors.Coming down the other side…A new bay view…Steve escaping the jungle.Country living…Cookie time!Rest stop…Do Na in the hammock.Crossing the bridge…You got this, Scott…Civilization again.On the road……and headed home.Ever wonder where all those plastic bottles wind up?That’s all for this post!
See you tomorrow for another exciting installment from my so-called life.
No really, I mean it. Tuesday is my nothing day, so not a lot to say about it. Well, there was this one thing. I’ll get to that in a minute.
One of the things I accomplished was going to the immigration office and securing an additional sixty days of legality in the Philippines. Now within that sixty days, I’ll need to manage to get my passport renewed. Apparently, I can do everything online, including payment, thus avoiding a trip to the embassy in Manila. Another option is using a local travel agent here who will handle the processing for a fee. I’ll decide on one of those by tomorrow.
Yesterday, President Duterte announced people have a choice regarding COVID vaccinations–get one or go to jail. The proclamation made headline news all the way back in the USA, including this article in the Washington Post.
Some folks are saying it’s an idle threat because there is no law requiring anyone to get vaccinated. On the other hand, there is no law allowing the extra-judicial killings of those involved with drugs, and thousands have died since Duterte took office. Also, I imagine it’s easy enough for the legislature here to pass a law mandating getting the COVID shot.
I’m not opposed to the vaccine, although I wouldn’t do the Chinese one. I know several folks who have already had their shots. I’m not in any hurry either. The stupid thing is that there aren’t enough doses available to vaccinate everyone currently. Filipinos are especially reluctant because as I understand it a while back the government promised great things from a dengue vaccine. What it delivered was death to a large number of children who foolishly received the shot. And so it goes.
I got a massage yesterday. That was a nice change of pace. Had one of the bargirls who had shown some aptitude at rubbing while I sat on a barstool perform the service. I didn’t find this gal particularly attractive, but she did a decent job. And then me being me, I started rubbing her too. The next thing I knew, she was naked and on top of me. I guess you could call that a happy ending. I suppose it was a heat of the moment kind of thing because when we were done she said “I wasn’t expecting boom-boom.” I told her neither was I. I stuck 3000 pesos in her pocket before she left and haven’t heard from her since. I hope she wasn’t offended.
Beers at It Doesn’t Matter and dinner at Sit-n-Bull. I ordered up some lasagna and the waitress returned and apologetically told me “sorry, lasagna not available tonight”. Okay then, I went with my old favorite, pulled pork on a bun. A few minutes later she returned again with the lack of availability bad news. Oh well, I settled for a chef salad and it was actually quite nice. I’m not ragging on Sit-n-Bull, still my favorite Barretto restaurant overall. They have an extensive menu; I’m honestly surprised they can provide all those choices on any given night, especially with the lack of tourist clientele.
A fine Wednesday walk today with the group. I’ll post about that tomorrow. Right now it is beer o’clock and I’m going to head over to Dive In and say my goodbyes to Jessa.
I didn’t do yesterday’s Hash trail. I wasn’t alone in deciding to go my own way. Seven others joined me for a pleasant hike in the rain, clocking in with a mostly flat 7K walkabout. It was the right call. By the Hare’s own admission, out of 60 Hashers, only five chose to do the entire trail. Granted, twenty+ others did the first hill, then rode the Hashmobile back to our On-Home. Still, you might say that people voted with their feet in making the rational decision that prudence precludes doing insane shit at the behest of the Hare.
I’ve seen the pictures and I definitely made the right call. To begin, the Hashmobile was jammed packed. If my group had shown up there wouldn’t have been room for everyone. I hate riding in the back of that truck anyway, but a long haul out to the trailhead over rough roads was a non-starter for me, notwithstanding the difficulty of the trail itself. The pictures showed some tough rock scaling and wading through water. No thank you!
Some people give me shit about being a wuss and say it is disrespectful to the Hare to take out a group of Hashers on my own trail. Bullshit! I Hash to have fun, not to prove how manly I am by risking life and limb by putting myself in unsafe situations. Been there, done that, and I ain’t doing it no more. I honestly don’t begrudge a Hare like Guenter doing the kind of trail he personally prefers. I just expect the same consideration when I choose to do things my way.
Anyway, no hard feelings really on my part. Last night I was awarded a new Hash patch:
Yep, 150 runs now with the Subic Bay Hash House Harriers. Let’s hope I live long enough to do 150 more!The presentation by the Grandmaster during the Hash circle.
Not many pictures this week since I was not on the official trail, but here’s a few for your perusal:
This week’s “sane” Hash group.You can see the rain heading our way…Wet with sweat or wet with rain feels about the same. Although it is nice to have some relief from the heat.Crossing bridge #4 in Naugsol and turning to head On-Home.60 Hashers at Smoke and Bottles, including a large contingent from Angeles City.
San Miguel Zero beer was not available, so I was downing San Mig Light (5% alcohol versus my usual 3%). I neglected to moderate my intake accordingly and wound up a little more inebriated than normal. Laid down on the floor for a bit when I got back home and woke up feeling just dandy this morning.
It was a rainy night with plenty of lightning and thunder. But the sun came out in the morning to greet me.
My afternoon today had a bit of twist. I’ll share that story tomorrow.
In the meantime, here’s my Buddy boy keeping an eye on things in his new digs.
I started my evening at Dive In last night, planning to meet up with my hiking buddy Jim for some beers. Jessa was being entertained by a man I had seen buying her drinks on previous occasions. She confirmed later that he is indeed her new boyfriend, Wayne. Apparently, Wayne is returning back to the USA at the end of the month. Jessa is also quitting the bar and will stay at home with her daughter, presumably with the boyfriend’s financial support. I’m sincerely happy for her and hope this relationship works out better for her than the one with me did.
With Jessa occupied and Jim running late, a couple of the other girls took up stools on either side of me and started giving me a massage. I protested at first, but it did feel good. I bought them a drink and let them carry on. I chatted a bit with Wayne, who seems like a really nice guy. Retired Navy, so his Philippines experience goes much deeper than mine, having been stationed here in the early 1980s. He was also choosing the music being played and doing a fine job of it. He played Neil Young’s Down By The Riverand I commented that I had bought that album as a teen and that it was one of my favorites. I told him it was beyond my wildest imagination back then that I’d be listening to that same song 50 years later while being rubbed on by two sexy young women in a bar in the Philippines. What a long, strange trip it’s been!
After a few beers, I was feeling hungry so I said goodnight to the Dive In crew and headed out. This was the view from the highway:
That’s the problem with indoor bars…I missed most of one of the better sunsets I’ve seen lately.
I made my way to Sit-n-Bull and explored my dining options. I finally decided to give the Mexican a shot and ordered up the chicken enchilada plate.
With beans and Spanish rice of course. It wasn’t bad and certainly satisfied my hunger pangs.
Made it home in before my bedtime and woke up early to start a new day.
My life is far from perfect, but damn, I know I am blessed.
Took a refreshing morning walk and saw this:
That’s the first anti-American graffiti I’ve encountered during my time in the Philippines. I guess when it comes “down to” it and the PI is a province of China, they’ll be wishing for some good ol’ fashioned American intervention.
So, that leaves us with yesterday’s hike to write about. It was certainly much better than Wednesday’s disaster! We took a Jeepney out to Subic town and did a 7K walkabout. Limited ourselves to one hill climb and had a good look around the backroads. I’m one of the Hares a week from Monday and we are going to do our trail in this area too.
Have a look:
Our route.Waiting to catch a Jeepney, Ten of us for yesterday’s adventure.A Jollibee arrival in Subic.Let’s do this!Are you sure this is the way?Wide-open spaces…The bridge of fools?Down by the river…What we needed after Wednesday’s fiasco.Starting our only real climb of the day…On up!What goes up must come down…“Are you looking at me?”On the mean streets of Subic…That really gets my goat.A bridge too far.Edgewater.Onward!Flowers and cocks…Into the jungle.
It was a fine day to be alive.
You take my hand, I’ll take your hand. Together we may get away. This much madness is too much sorrow. It’s impossible to make it today.
She could drag me over the rainbow, Send me away.
Down by the river, I shot my baby. Down by the river.
Helped my “friend with benefits,” Joy, celebrate her thirty-second birthday yesterday. Took to lunch at Palm Tree then back to my place for dessert. Something we both enjoy.
She’s not the cutest girl around, but she is either very sweet or knows how to play the game exceptionally well.
She’s also one of the all-time bests I’ve enjoyed sharing my bed with. She went home satisfied and so was I. Win-win!
After a recuperative nap, I headed out to Cheap Charlies for some beers. It’s a little distressing when you are the only customer and your find yourself surrounded by desperate young women. I prefer to drink with one of my favorites, but lately I’ve made an exception and helped a couple of gals make some drink commissions. I also bought a little food from downstairs to share and they voraciously devoured that in next to no time.
I’ve said it before, the bars here with maybe just a couple of exceptions, are really struggling. Tourism seems to be coming back if the hotels and beaches are any indication, but those folks are primarily Filipino families, not the clientele the bars cater to. I guess the drinking establishments will either hold out until foreign tourists are allowed back in the country or they will go broke. President Duterte decreed the other day that face shields are no longer required so maybe that’s a positive sign. We’ll see.
In the meantime, I’ll continue to enjoy views like this one for as long as I can:
A cloud over Kalaklan ridge as seen from CC’s. Reminded me of our ill-fated hike on Wednesday.I also enjoyed a visual smorgasbord of full moons. The girls for some reason were fixated on watching an illegally parked car being towed from the highway below. I was glad to watch them watch that.
On my way home, I popped into Alaska Club for the first time in several months. Once again, I was the only customer. It was actually almost depressing. Alaska is the first bar I ever visited in the Philippines (back in its Angeles City incarnation) so I sort of have a sentimental attachment. The owner, Jerry, has been stuck back in the USA for over a year now. The girls told me there are many nights when they have no customers at all. There were at least a dozen gals “working” last night, so the bar must be losing money big time. Good on Jerry for keeping his staff employed during these hard times. No idea how long he can continue bleeding money though. I bought a couple of lady drinks and had a chair massage to help out a little.
Everything changes I suppose and life goes on. Until it doesn’t. Still, there is no place else I’d rather be. Things just keep getting crazier and crazier back home.
It was a beautiful day to be on the trail with the Wednesday hiking group. Until things turned just about as ugly as I’ve ever seen them. We had a general idea in mind of where we were going and how we were going to get there. Until we didn’t. That’s part of the adventure I suppose, but our chosen path led to near disaster. For some reason, we wound up climbing a mountain we never should have climbed–there was no trail and our ascent took us in the wrong direction. Once we realized the error of our ways, we should have aborted and retreated, but we didn’t. Halfway up when the climb became near impossible for some of the less hardy among us, we should have said our goodbyes to the strong ones and headed back down the way we came. It was a collective cluster fuck and a comedy of errors. Except it wasn’t funny. Perhaps we’ve learned our lesson. We had one guy nearly pass out from dehydration (he hadn’t brought enough water for our elongated hike). One guy had to literally be pushed, pulled and carried up the mountain after he collapsed in exhaustion. It was a pretty scary thing to witness. The mountain climb kicked my ass as well, but I worked my way up slow and steady, eventually reaching the ridge road. How bad were things? None of us had any desire for our traditional after-hike gathering to drink beer and eat lunch. No permanent damage, so I guess we should consider ourselves blessed.
Pictures from the day:
The red line to the left is where things went wrong.Eleven of us began the trek and eleven came back home. That’s one measure of success.Heading out.So far, so good.A quick hello to the mountain family…I used to think this was the hard part…During a rest stop, Do Na was showing off her ASSets.Don’t worry, that’s her husband.It really was a pretty day.This is why we hike…Your humble correspondent out in the wilds…Show us the way, Dan.This should have been the high point…The great outdoors.I like what I see.What’s not to like?Clueless to what lies ahead.Wait a minute, are you sure about this?We are all in it together.We’ll be sorry!Crash damage…Yeah, it turns out this was only halfway up.What running out of gas looks like. Troy and Chris somehow managed to carry/pull/drag Scott the rest of the way up.A girl and a tree.A view from our conquered mountain.Wide open spaces.Scott’s back on his feet…Splendor in the grass.The cabin in the woods.I reckon that’s just about enough for this post!
I’ve been here once before and overall it’s probably the best Korean dining I’ve had in these parts. I was very surprised I was able to even find it again. Just got lucky, I guess.
The wait staff is all Filipino but they’ve apparently been taught a little Korean by what I presume are Korean owners. “Annyeonghaseyo!” as you enter and “kamsamnida” on the way out. Most impressive was when I called out “yogi yo, maekju chuseyo” they knew to bring me a beer. Good times!
The occasion for visiting this fine establishment was an early celebration of Joy’s (my friend with benefits) birthday. She wanted samgyeopsal and I was bound and determined to make her wish come true. The first place I tried was a Korean restaurant I knew in Harbor Point Mall, but alas, it had gone out of business since my last visit. Wasn’t sure where to go next, but saw a place with Korean signage across the street, so we hoofed it there. It was one of those unlimited meat places, but before we even sat down the waiter explained that they were out of several of the menu options, including samgyeopsal and bulgogi. No thank you!
There’s a large Korean presence on SBMA (the old Navy base) so I figured we’d find something. I commenced to walking down a street that looked vaguely familiar and Eureka! we found the Seoul restaurant.
Here are the menu options we were presented with, but we already knew what we wanted–samgyeopsal and bulgogi–her favorite and mine.Samgyeopsal on the grill. My only real gripe with Seoul is that you have to order sides separately at 35 pesos each. There were really good though, so there’s that.I also enjoyed the hell out of the bulgogi stew–the best I’ve had outside of Korea. Could have done with a few more of those long, skinny mushrooms though. Joy thought it was “too sweet.” Fine! That leaves more for me!
We pretty much devoured every last bite of everything we ordered before departing. Yum!
I also bought Joy a new cellphone for her birthday. She’s been dropping big hints about her need for one for quite a while, and I was happy to be able to accommodate her birthday wish in that regard as well. We caught a taxi back to Barretto, and on the way, I told her it wasn’t a good time to visit my place because I had some construction workers coming to install my TV and hang some other things on the walls (solid concrete, I don’t have the tools for the job). She seemed genuinely disappointed that there wouldn’t be any “boom-boom” but we’ve made plans for that tomorrow.
I did my beer drinking at It Doesn’t Matter last night. I had seen a Facebook post that Myleen’s, a restaurant right next door, was featuring pecan pie! Now, I can’t even find pecan nuts around here, and I’ve looked everywhere. So, I had a couple of slices delivered.
A little pricey at 170 pesos ($3.50) but I guess it is fair to say it was the best pecan pie I’ve ever eaten–in the Philippines. It tasted okay, but the innards were so firm that I couldn’t cut through it with the plastic fork provided. No problem picking it up like a slice of pizza though. I prefer my pecan pie moist and tender inside, but when you have no other options, you settle for the best option available. At least I did last night.
I hope this post didn’t make you hungry, Kevin Kim. This old memory of mine from the 1980s ought to make you lose that appetite!
Pretty in pink somewhere in Oklahoma. What a long strange trip it’s been.
The first climb on yesterday’s Hash trail was insane. Hands and knees crazy. Pulling myself up by grabbing hold of the grass in front of me nuts. Definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience–I’d have to be a lunatic to attempt that ascent again, and I’m just not that bonkers.
It didn’t have to be that way. Pubic Head, the putative leader of our “sane” Hash group, tried to warn us. But the rest of our group had already gone forward and from where I stood it looked steep but doable. Pubic Head wound up breaking his trekking pole, so turned back before the real beserk shit started. It’s good that he did. His first words when I saw him at our On-Home venue was “I told you so.” Yes, you did. I’ll listen to you next time for sure.
So, having survived that climb, the trail (or at least the part I did) wasn’t bad. A lot of it was the familiar “My Bitch” terrain, although the down was new to me. Once back on the flat ground I made the determination that I’d had enough, and we shortcut our way back to Da’Kudo’s for the Hash circle festivities. I probably completed a little over 5K of a 9K trail. No regrets about not doing more.
Here are some photos:
The climb started sanely enough…But then it went from this…..to this. Told you it was a crazy-ass climb.Looking back from half way up…Grab that grass and pull yourself up as best as you are able.This wasn’t the highest mountain around, but definitely the steepest ascent I can recall in my 3.5-year Hashing career…The view from the top…Enjoying the sanity of “My Bitch”…My kind of trail.Yes, it was harder than the notorious climb up Easter mountain.For you Preying Mantis fans…Let the shortcutting commence…The On-Home Hash circle was held on Baloy Beach for the first time since the pandemic insanity started…We had good weather for our rituals…Although the skies were threatening.Some Hash Gash for your viewing pleasure.And so ended another day beside the the lovely waters of the Subic Bay.I trust this post has served its purpose.
I’ll tell you about my Joy full day today, tomorrow.
Most men and women lead lives at the worst so painful, at the best so monotonous, poor, and limited that the urge to escape, the longing to transcend themselves if only for a few moments, is and has always been one of the principal appetites of the soul.”
Aldous huxley
It was back to Palm Tree last evening for some dinner and beers. I had the fried chicken which was okay, but nothing worth writing home blogging about. Still, the beer was cold and plentiful:
Who can resist a deal like that? The free one tasted every bit as good as the first.
And as usual, this was the view I enjoyed while I imbibed:
A quiet Sunday evening on the beach under threatening skies…
Caught a trike home and as we headed up the road towards my place I was thinking that this underpowered scooter was not going to make it up that last big hill. Through the skill or will of the driver, we did, in fact, make it all the way to the top. Good job!
The rain held off until late in the night when I was awakened by some fierce thunder and lightning. But this morning when I looked outside, all was well:
I could enhance my view by strategically cutting down some trees. My upstairs neighbor has actually suggested we do so under the cover of darkness. Nope, not gonna happen. To begin with, they are not my trees. Destroying someone else’s property is not my style. I am also a nature lover and killing an innocent tree for my selfish viewing pleasure just ain’t right. The view is what it is. If a typhoon comes through and blows one or two of them down, well, that’s God’s will, right?
A pleasant dog walk under blue skies this morning was refreshing. I’ve had to re-chart the daily thirty-minute routes from the new starting point, but the dogs aren’t complaining.
Easter mountain was looking especially nice this morning.
After walking the dogs, I treated myself to breakfast at Sit-n-Bull.
The Bull McMuffin–sausage, cheese, and fried egg on a fresh muffin. Yum!
When I got home from breakfast, my helper advised that Lucky had run away. She was taking him out for a pee break, but before she could attach the chain he took off. She chased after him and finally found him waiting to be let back into the house. The house I used to live in. He’s never been too bright, but I still love him. Maybe some drunken night I’ll wind up back there pounding on the door to be let in. I hope not!
Probably the most interesting thing, if interesting is the right word, to happen in my little cocoon was hearing from a woman who had not said a word to me for several months. She has a new name and a new Facebook profile. When she first contacted me I had no clue as to who she was and almost deleted her (as I do most strangers who contact me on social media). Something made me hesitate and then I figured out who she was. Yikes! I thought we’d both left those flirtatious days in the past. Well, I definitely have. No interest in getting involved emotionally or otherwise with a married woman. I do wish her well, of course. I don’t know why people choose to stay in an unhappy and unhealthy relationship. Regardless, I’m not going to be an escape hatch either. See how much I’ve learned in just a few short months?
It’s Hash Monday, so time for me to prepare. A Hasher from Angeles, Two Bottles, is the Hare. I’ve done a couple of his trails in the past, so I expect something of a challenge. Of course, me and the “sane” group will make adjustments as necessary. I’ll tell you how it goes tomorrow.
*MUSTARD: More Useless Situations That Are Really Dumb
**KETCHUP: Keep Expecting Things Change However Universally Pointless
(Alright, I admit the above references are extremely convoluted even by my low standards. My intent is to not have duplicate blog post titles, and that’s getting harder after more than sixteen years of writing LTG. And once I had come up with the “MUSTARD” reference (which pretty accurately describes this post AND my life, my love of puns required that I follow up with “KETCHUP.” At least I held the MAYO! *ahem*
Cheap Charlies for a couple of beers to start off my Saturday on the town As soon as I sat down I had a gal on each side of me, looking on expectantly with puppy dog eyes. I guess they aren’t allowed to actually ask you to buy them a drink, but I know that look. I don’t reward that behavior from Buddy and Lucky, and I resisted their unspoken entreaties until I ordered my third beer (I usually buy a lady drink after my first). I’m not sure why I wasn’t feeling more generous last night. I do prefer to treat one girl to drinks at a time and I don’t like feeling pressured or expected to be the big spender in the bar. On the other hand, I was the only customer on early Saturday evening, so I’m sure their desperation was legitimate. There were probably a dozen other gals looking enviously our way. Ah well, finished my beer, gave them each 50 pesos, and headed on out.
Next (and last) stop was Mango’s for my ration of beach views, beers, and food. Had some friendly banter with my favorite waitress there as well.
On the beach.
I noticed on my way to Mango’s that all the hotels I passed had full parking lots. And as I said, Cheap Charlies was empty. Barretto has become a popular destination for Filipinos these days and they spend their time on the beach, not in the bars. That’s going to be the new normal for the foreseeable future.
My grilled pork chops were outstanding as usual.
Caught a trike home after enjoying my meal. Coincidentally or not, I had the same driver as the previous night. I overpay trikes, 100 pesos for a 50 peso ride, so the drivers are on the lookout for me. Oftentimes when I’m walking past a trike stand I’ll be greeted with calls of “Alta Vista!”. Heh, better to popular with these guys than not. Besides, it’s one freakin’ dollar extra I’m paying. It makes their night (most of their trips with locals are 20 peso rides) and I don’t mind spending a little extra to get home safely. Anyway, this driver was determined to conquer the hill that had defeated him the night before, so he really revved it up, downshifted, and gave it full throttle. It was a close call, but he made it up and on over to my doorstep. Well done!
This part of the subdivision I live in now is much noisier than my former residence. The house down the hill is constantly blaring music. He started a little before six this morning, but of course, I was already up. Also lots of barking dogs around here. I hope my relatively quiet dogs don’t get blamed for that. The only thing that really bothered my sleep last night though was my upstairs neighbor’s air conditioner. It must be dripping condensation and it drips on top of my aircon which is directly below. I’m going to close my window tonight and hopefully escape that irritating sound.
I noticed my Buddy boy was having a peaceful sleep early this morning. Glad he is feeling at home now.
I had some inspiration for my solo walk today. Kevin Kim, who is well on his way to recovery from a recent stroke, did an 18k hike yesterday in under four hours. Impressive in the best of times. Kevin has always been out of my league but I wanted to see what I had in me so I pushed myself today. This was the result:
Not too bad for an old slow guy like me.
I pretty much max out at 8K in one go, and I wouldn’t have been able to resist the urge to shortcut but for wanting to see just where I stood vis a vis, Kevin. Of course, there is no comparison to the master, but I was pleased with my effort regardless.
Thanks to Scott for sending me this Google map of my trek today.
So that’s about as normal as things can be around here, I suppose. Thanks, as always, for dropping by.
I was lazing around the house this morning when the Asian Vision (cable/internet) truck rolled up. They were here to move my internet to the new place. Just yesterday I’d been told it would be 5-10 days before that happened. Oh well. They disconnected here and we headed up the road to my apartment. Had my internet hooked up in next to no time. What about the cable TV, I asked. Sorry, sir, there is no cable available here. What? We don’t have this section wired yet. Okay, I guess I don’t have to worry about the “fee” for downgrading my package. And the apartment already has a satellite dish installed that I can get turned on for TV.
The downside to this surprise was that I hadn’t even begun to pack, nor had I made arrangements to move my stuff. So, I called my neighbor Ed who is in charge of the Hash truck and he’s available tomorrow. Asked my new helper, Inday, about having her boyfriend bring a couple of friends over in the morning to do the heavy lifting. That leaves the packing.
My full-time helper, Teri, started packing up the kitchen…And I started packing out my bedroom.
It’s a pain in the ass, but by this time tomorrow I should be blogging from my new digs.
I also had a surprise when I visited the doctor today to review my test results. Every thing on the blood tests came back normal. Doctor Cayabyab also had no concerns with my chest x-ray, saying my lungs were consistent for a man of my age. Well, they’ve been consistently bad for several years, so I guess I was just ahead of my time. The only test outside of the normal range was my PSA screening, which came in at 4.2. Under 4 is considered acceptable, and over 4 can be a sign of prostate cancer or something else. Well, the last time I had a finger up my ass was before I left Korea, and back then I had an enlarged prostate that I’ve been taking meds for ever since. My doc here wasn’t concerned about the above normal reading, saying it was “close enough”. She did suggest I do another PSA screen in December to make sure it’s not climbing higher. Okay, then. You’re the doctor.
Oh, and the blood pressure thing–Kevin Kim was saying he doesn’t trust his BP machines reading. When I took mine at home this morning I got a 140/85. Took it again, and this time I was 127/73. Go figure. Then, right when I arrived at the doctor’s office they took my BP, and it was130/85, which’s normal for me. Then they took it again–131/81, almost same-same. Then they took it a THIRD time and it came out 123/71. So, I asked the doctor what was up–do they just take your BP until they get a number they like? She said they always take three readings and use the last one. She explained that when people first arrive they need time to relax and calm down from any outside activities which may elevate BP. That’s her story anyway. I do my own checks daily but look at my overall weekly average to see how I’m doing consistently.
But enough about me. I’ve got photos from Friday’s hike to share with y’all. We changed it up a bit by taking a Jeepney out to Olongapo City and hiking up the back side of the mountain to the ridge line. A short but challenging 6K trek.
Our toute up the mountain, across the ridge, and down the other side.Are we going to hike or to rob a bank? Hard to tell these days.Jeepneys aren’t the most comfortable mode of transportation, but it got us there after a 20-minute ride.Hooking up with the rest of our group (they had taken an earlier Jeepney).Let the climbing commence!It was a tough stair climb, made more difficult by the fact that the steps were uneven and randomly spaced. Made it hard to find a stepping up rhythm…And they went on and on……and on and on. Reminded me of the steps to Seoul Tower, although those steps were easier because of being properly engineered.Once the stairs gave way, we still had some climbing to do.Kinda missing those stairs now…Pushing on up.Reaching the top at last!See you next time Olongapo!Walking the ridgeline…Taking a break before heading down.Sisters…Sheryl and Jailbait (I don’t recall her real name, but I know she is just 17…)Some shade and some water hit the spot…A cookie delivery…Down we go…A Preying Manits in the wild…her real name is Do Na.Pretty as a picture though…A couple of distinguished gentlemen…the one in back is Do Na’s husband.Indistinguishable…You coming, Jim?Posers…Back on the pavement and headed for some beers…Some well-earned liuid refreshment at the end of our hike.
And that brings you up to date! Tomorrow’s post will be the first from my new venue. See you then!
It is better to give than receive, I’m told. So, I made a donation of urine and O+ blood at Baypointe Hospital yesterday. In return for my generosity, I’m being provided a slew of test results that may shed some light on how my soon-to-be 66-year-old body is holding on against my daily over indulgences of walking and drinking. Also got a chest x-ray that might reveal how much longer I’ll be capable of breathing. Sent my helper to pick up the results this afternoon and I’ll schedule a visit with the doctor for her insights into the state of my health.
That hospital visit was pretty much the highlight of my lazy Tuesday. Did some limited grocery shopping with the idea that the less I buy now, the less I’ll have to move later. When that later might be remains unresolved. I’m trying to time the move to coincide with the transfer of my cable TV/internet service. They want me to move first, then schedule a technician. Nope, when the technician calls to say he’s on his way I’ll carry the modem and wifi transmitter with me to the new house. Duh. Oh, and I want to downgrade my television service to basic since I rarely watch TV, and when I do, it’s on the internet. The cable company said there is a 1000 peso fee to change service levels. Bullsht. If push comes to shove, I’ll just cancel altogether and then call to establish service as a new customer. I’d tell them to fuck off completely but they are the only provider here in Alta Vista. We shall see how this plays out.
A typical evening out last night. Started at Cheap Charlies, then moved on to Mango’s.
Some stormy skies left the beach pretty much deserted.I was entertained watching this lass bury her boyfriend in the sand…Not sure why I found her performance so entertaining. Maybe I’m easily aroused amused.Had the Mango’s roast chicken with coleslaw for my dinner. Plenty left over to bring home to the help, too.
That’s about it from here. I’ve got Dive In on my radar for tonight and I’ll report on today’s Wednesday Walkers excursion tomorrow.
See you then! And oh yeah, Fuck You, Fauci!
The chickens are coming home to roost, you fraudulent bastard.
I might have mentioned that one of the repercussions associated with my upcoming move involves the folks currently living in my basement room. The mother, who is employed as a caretaker for the property owners, will be moving into the basement of the house next door. I’ve been supplementing her meager wages with a 1000 peso ($20) a week bonus, so she will be losing out on that after I’m gone. The real impact is on her daughter, Inday, who won’t be permitted by the landlord to join her mother when she moves. Inday is in her late 20s and unemployed. Her boyfriend, who has also been staying in my basement, is minimally employed in the construction trades. Inday is also a Hasher (Cum In My Basement) and we are Facebook friends. I’ve seen her increasingly desperate posts asking for leads on affordable housing in the area. Of course, with very little income there ain’t much they can afford. Although it is not my responsibility, I do feel bad about her situation.
I also probably mentioned that my part-time helper, Gina, left my employ a couple of months ago. And when I was checking out my new digs yesterday, including what is actually a pretty nice basement maid’s room, a thought occurred to me: I could offer Inday the part-time job, pay her the P1000 a week I was giving her mother, and let her (and the boyfriend) reside in my basement. I mentioned that possibility to Inday and she seemed grateful (her English isn’t that great). I saw her mom later and she thanked me profusely. So, it looks like I am going to have another helping hand around here.
Otherwise, not much else is going on. The rain has put a, um, damper on my walking activity, or at least provided a handy excuse for my laziness. One of those. I took advantage of a break in the storm yesterday and hustled down to Cheap Charlies.
The view from my stool. Those mountains (the Kalaklan ridge) in the background will be the destination for tomorrow’s Hash. Guenter is the Hare, but to his credit, he posted a map and possible shortcuts for those not up to the challenge of climbing up to the top, then down to Olongapo, then back up and down to Barretto again. I’ll do the first climb, walk the ridgeline, then come back down on a safe and sane trail.
Anyway, it was Saturday night so I played the role of big spender–lots of lady drinks and food for the girls. That’s kind of a once-a-week undertaking for me; I’m not rich, after all. Why all that generosity last night set me back a whopping $60! Yeah, I must be crazy, I know.
This morning on the dog walk I took the boys to see their new place. They didn’t pee on anything, so I’ll take that as a good sign. I’m going to need to rearrange some furniture to get everything to fit. It should be cozy (that’s the nice way to say “cramped”, right?). It’s gonna be a bit of an adjustment, but it will be fine once I’m settled in.
This is another not from my new house view, but I will be living on that street in the foreground. Close enough, right? I just liked the way the clouds looked floating there below the mountain.
I took myself out for a French lunch today at The Pub.
A French Dip sandwich served au jus and French fried potatoes. John Kim only uses quality ingredients and the beef was outstanding. To me, the au jus makes the sandwich, and I was not disappointed in this flavorful concoction. My only quibble was the lack of cheese on the sandwich. I saw you could order a cheese of your choosing for an extra 50P, but I assumed the French Dip would automatically include the cheese. My fault for not asking.
And that’s today’s installment from the story of my life. Thanks for dropping by, and remember, don’t let those masks slip! Right Dr. Fraudci?
The rent-paying saga has now come to an end. But there was one last gut-wrenching episode to that story. In yesterday’s post, I mentioned that Western Union had extracted nearly $3000. from my bank account as I had authorized for my move-in expenses at the new apartment. They also attempted a duplicate withdrawal which my bank rejected for non-sufficient funds and charged me a $29. fee for my failure to let WU rape me. Regardless, the rent money was out of my account and presumably on its way to my landlady’s bank account.
Not so fast! Late in the afternoon I received an email from Western Union advising:
We’re sorry to let you know that we canceled your recent transfer. We needed additional information from you to complete it but were unable to reach you at Not-A-Number(false).
Are you f’n kidding me? They unhelpfully provided a US 1-800 number to call if I had any questions. I was livid and drafted a nasty email response, then noticed that the fine print advised that responses to this email would not be seen and suggested contacting a customer service representative via their webpage. I went to the webpage and no email addresses were provided. You could call, mail a letter (people still do that?) or chat with someone online. So, I tried chat. After waiting a few minutes, I got connected with someone named Adhar. He took my basic information, asked me what the problem was, and after I explained he told me to hold while he looked into the issue. When he returned he told me I would have to call a 1-800 number. I explained that I was in the Philippines and couldn’t call a toll-free number in the USA. He came back and gave me a number that he claimed would work from here. It didn’t. That was thirty minutes of my life I’ll never get back.
Now what? I asked a local techy friend if there was a way to contact a toll-free number from my mobile phone. He said, “just add three zeros before the one”. Seriously? I tried it and it worked! So now I’m “talking” to some AI voice that assures me it will understand my responses. It took my name, my transaction number, and my issue–then told me to hold while I was transferred to an appropriate customer representative. Moments later I’m connected to a young-sounding woman speaking in accented but understandable English. She asked what my problem was and I let her have it–with both barrels. Yeah, a week’s worth of frustration came spewing out. In essence, I said, “you tell me the transfer was canceled because you need more information. And yet, you had enough info to withdraw the funds from my bank and are now refusing to send that money on to its final destination. Then you have the audacity to say I provided a false phone number. I’m talking to you from that non-existent number right now!” I was using my “BIG VOICE” which I’ve been told is both loud and intimating. I actually felt bad about it afterward and semi-apologized. To her credit, the CSR simply said she was sorry for the misunderstanding and proceeded to try and rectify the issues.
First, she said she needed to call me at the number I provided. “You want me to hang up?” I asked incredulously. “No,” she said, “stay on the line. I’ll be right back.” I’m not sure what she did, maybe dialed and go a busy signal. Anyway, when she returned she said that there are many fraudulent transfers to the Philippines and therefore it was necessary that I provide additional information about my transaction. Fine, fire away.
What is the money being sent to be used for? Paying two months rent and two months security deposit.
Who is the recipient? Karen van Scheck, the owner of the property.
Have you ever met her in person? No, I’m dealing with her agent who is a personal friend of mine.
How do you know this person owns the property? Um, because I know other tenants in the same building who have not encountered any issues with her or their wire transfer services. *Ahem*
Hold on, sir. Okay, I’ve submitted your responses and your wire transfer is now approved. When will the money arrive? It is there now, sir.
Thanks. Have a good day. *click*
Anyway, I get what they are trying to do–prevent me from ripped off. I still contend if my transaction was flagged as potentially fraudulent they should never have taken the money from my account. The landlady emailed me this morning saying the money was indeed in her bank account. And oh yeah, my bank responded to my message about the insufficient funds notice and said the $29 fee was being waived. Another victory!
This morning I met with Heidi, the landlady’s rep, and we did an inventory of the house contents. Then she gave me the keys:
I shit you not, these keys are how you access the locks in a two-bedroom (well, three, counting the maid’s room) apartment. One for the outside gate, two for the front door, one for every other door in the house, except the sliding door to the balcony which takes THREE separate keys to open! I’ve never seen anything like it.
I’ll figure it out. I’m going to need to get duplicates made to the essential doors–for the helpers and to hide outside for the inevitable drunken night when I lose mine. Ain’t life grand?
The view as I walked back to my old place from my new place. This is NOT the view I’ll be seeing from my apartment, however.
I’m going to start a slow transition to my new digs. Need to get the internet transferred before I move for one thing. I’m tentatively looking at Thursday next week for using the Hash truck to move my larger items. I don’t like moving, but doing it piecemeal might make it a little less burdensome.
In other news, Facebook reminded me of a painful memory from three years ago:
My first Hash crash resulted in stitches. Tripped over some ground level barbed wire.
Speaking of hiking, there was a Friday get-together yesterday. Given the recent heavy rains, we stayed down low and mostly on paved ground. One of the gals with us said the hike was “long and hard, just the way I like it!” You are welcome. Here are a few pictures:
At our meet-up location, the 7/11 on Baloy road.Only six of us braved the threatening weather. Only a few sprinkles during the hike and they were actually quite refreshing.“Watch out for the rocky road!” I scream.Black Rock ridge…Hey, wait for me!That’s better…There they go again. I was definitely the slowest walker in this herd. Plus, I was the only photographer this time.Back into Alta Vista and headed for lunch…Chillaxin’ at the Palm Tree resort.
As I mentioned, we didn’t get much rain during the hike. But right as we finished lunch the sky opened up and rain fell in torrents. I chose to walk home anyway and was soaked to the bone. Damn, I miss those sunny hot days! Kidding, I’ll take the rain for now. Ask me again next month!
Anytime this old fart can log 20K, it’s been a good day!
