And I am very lucky that it didn’t result in a broken neck!
Things always happen when you least expect them it seems. A typical morning. One minute I’m sitting in front of my computer. Then I lean back in my chair and hear a loud *snap*. Next thing I know I’m clutching at the desktop to avoid cascading backward onto the floor.
The aftermath.
No other injuries. Looks like I’m in the market for a new office chair though.
Walked my Hash trail for next Monday this morning. I’m going to call it “The 69er”–a 6K hike for the lazy bastards and a 9K for the runners. One climb at the beginning, a meandering trail incorporating a lot of My Bitch, then down into the valley for some flatland walking. I like it!
A pretty worthless map actually, couldn’t figure how to save a satellite version from my app. I stopped at my house, but the actual trail continues to Baloy Beach and the on-home at Johan’s.The climb begins in a rather dicey neighborhood. The folks who live here may be poor, but they are friendly. That’s the paradox of the Philippines. I wouldn’t walk through an area like this in the states!It is not a strenuous climb (fuck you Günter!) but still achieves some decent elevation. The most difficult part is making your way through some tall thatch grass in places.A nice view of Barretto from on high.There stands Easter mountain on the far side of the valley I will soon be traversing.
Anyway, it should be a good safe and sane trail.
I’ll offer up this photo for today’s “interesting” feature:
This is actually on one of the back streets here in my subdivision. I don’t know if it was a pre-existing structure prior to Alta Vista being developed or if someone ran out of funds during construction. Either way, it looks to me like a broken dream.That’s Buddy sniffing around for a clue as to what happened.
Now, here’s a Democratic ticket that would be hard to beat stop laughing at:
In your dreams.
I guess after Nevada it is going to be hard to stop Bernie though.
Working for the weekend!
I’ve got the Hash this afternoon. Leech My Nuggets is the Hare. He told me he’s basically doing the same trail he laid for the Manila guys, just in reverse. Well, I’m up for one of those mountains anyway. As long as I have a leg to stand on.
Anyway, nothing to write home about, yet here I am.
Did my first run with the Manila Hash House Harriers. Nothing really remarkable about the trail, since it was pretty much a Subic Hare’s work. There were too many Hashers at the on-home to fit in the truck, so me and another Subic Hasher walked from Treasure Island out to the start of the short trail. The mountains were both on the long trail as it turns out, so we pretty much had a boring and flat 5K trail. But that’s okay, I got my steps in.
The circle was conducted at Hot Zone and the Manila rituals are similar to what we do, but there is no ice involved. To be honest it was kinda blah, mainly because I didn’t know any of the individuals being recognized. And again, with no women in the group, there weren’t even any pleasant distractions. Well, I take that back. We had four waitresses to serve our beers. And they all worked topless. Two of them were actually quite attractive. And I bought one of those two a couple of lady drinks and she sat pleasantly at my side for most of the proceedings. So there was that.
Went to Alley Cats after the Hash and the night ended on a sour note for me there. When will I learn? I certainly don’t have any room for bargirl drama in my life right now. Time for some new shit I suppose.
What else? Well, things can always be worse. Like this guy:
AKA Canadian Warren. I didn’t really know him, just saw him around some. He used to pop into Alley Cats occasionally. The story is his ex cheated him out of all his money and he was living on the street the last few months of his life. I don’t have any details on the circumstances of his passing. I understand he was 65 years old. RIP Warren. At least your suffering is over now.
Speaking of fools and their money soon being parted, the thought of this guy getting the Democrat nomination is mind-boggling. But he appears to be on a roll.
Glad I don’t have to be there to witness the insanity up close and personal. I’m really not worried about Trump losing, but he is still subject to the whims of the electorate and also prone to gaffes. Anything could happen I suppose.
Ah, the “tit for tat” title reminds me of this story from my working days. We were in a class about sexual harassment (not a how-to, but a not to) and the instructor was talking about the quid pro quo type of harassment. Someone in the class asked him what that meant and he responded, you know, tit for tat. We all cracked up even though he hadn’t intended his remark to be funny.
Ah well, time marches on and so do I. Time for an afternoon stroll.
I’ve now completed another first here in the Philippines with a visit to the dentist. It was pretty consistent with what I’ve experienced in the two other countries where I’ve had someone looking down in my mouth. My first impression was generally positive because they had me complete a medical history questionnaire, including inquiries about drug allergies. Thankfully, I don’t have any but it has always been disconcerting when I’ve seen a doctor here who gives me shots and meds and doesn’t think (or care enough) to ask if I might have a fatal reaction to the drugs.
The dentist (sorry, I’ve already forgotten his name) had a small facility but it appeared relatively up to date. He didn’t take any x-rays which was a little surprising. Not sure if he even had that capability. I told him I’d lost a filling and that was his examination focus, not even a cursory check for cavities or other potential problems in my other teeth. After digging around in the problem tooth a bit he told me it was fractured and that with a filling I’d likely still experience pain. He recommended extracting the tooth and I asked about a root canal and crown instead. According to him, the fracture precluded that course of action, but I could get an implant after the extraction if I wanted.
Hmm. I know in the USA extracting a tooth is always the last option. Judging by the smiles of many of the Filipinos I meet pulling teeth seems to be the preferred way to deal with dental issues here. Well, I hadn’t been experiencing any pain in the fractured tooth even without a filling, so I told him to just fill it and see what happens. And so he did. Took about 30 minutes all told and cost me a mere P2,200 ($44.). So far I’m still pain-free and I have one less hole in my head. I’d call that a win!
I came home and decided to celebrate by firing up my seldom used grill.
Burgers and brats on the grill……and on my plate.
After my meal, I headed back into town to participate in the dart tourney at Alley Cats. Along the way, I encountered one of those uniquely Philippines moments.
What’s wrong with this picture? The Philippines is a land of contradictions and illogic. That’s actually part of the charm. Things are done differently here and you can accept that and be happy or rage about it and be frustrated. Nothing will change either way.
They’ve recently built an extra lane on the National Highway going through town. People are still parking in what used to be the shoulder of the road, negating whatever benefit the extra lane provided in easing traffic congestion. So, the local barangay officials took action by setting up “no parking” signs up and down the highway. Of course, they placed them in the middle of the lane so people still can’t use the roadway as intended. I actually laughed out loud when I saw this.
Finished second in the dart tourney. Steve, the Englishman who doesn’t drink, drew Alan, one of the other top players as a partner, so it was pretty much a foregone conclusion that they would be unstoppable. And they were. I wasn’t playing my best game but my partner Anabel (one of the bargirls at Alley Cats) was throwing surprisingly good darts, making second place all the more satisfying.
Coincidentally, Facebook reminds that it was exactly three years ago that I played my first tourney at Alley Cats. I was a tourist back then of course. Took a first place that night.
I’m not sure what it is about the litter that captures my attention, but I’ll offer up this trashy shot from my morning walk for today’s “interesting” photo feature:
This is really quite whore-able, don’t you think? How or why she wound up like a snake in the grass is anyone’s guess. I left her there though, half the woman that she used to be.I’ll keep my eyes open for something more interesting to post in the future. Promise!
Another adventure on tap for this afternoon. The Manila Hashers are in Barretto for their annual out-of-town events. They started last night with a bar crawl, but I was otherwise occupied. I’m going to do their Hash run this afternoon and see how that goes. Leech My Nuggets helped the Manila Hare (Nancy Boy) set the trail. I expect it will be a tough one. I know we are going to start in Subic-town and finish at Hot Zone in Barretto. I’m guessing that will involve climbing two different mountains. Unless I shortcut. We’ll see how it goes. Oh, and interestingly, the Manila Hash doesn’t allow females to participate. I think that sucks, to be honest. I appreciate the view more with a sexy Filipina on the trail.
And there you have another glimpse into my so-called life.
So, yesterday I decided to change things up a little and bust out of my normal daily routines. Hopped in a Jeepney and rode it out to Barangay Kalaklan, for the whopping fare of 13 pesos (26 cents). From there I hoofed it to the old Navy base, continued on and through Harbor Point mall, and then arrived at my ultimate destination: SM Mall Olongapo City. Not to be confused with SM Mall Central, about a mile away.
The view from inside the Jeepney. Honestly, it’s a pretty unsafe way to travel but that just adds to the excitement I suppose…
I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned it before but there is a “mall culture” in the Philippines, unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. In the USA malls are going bankrupt and closing down, apparently everyone shops at Amazon these days. But here the malls serve as a social gathering place and they seem to always be busy. Somewhat odd in a country that is so relatively poor. Even the poor folks though can enjoy free air conditioning (that was running so smoothly after regular hvac services) and wifi I suppose.
Anyway, I personally very rarely go to the mall, and when I do go I’m in-and-out as quickly as possible. I went to SM Mall because I wanted some things that I thought might be most convenient to find in a large department store, as opposed to shopping around in the specialty shops. Yesterday’s trip was prompted by the realization that the clothing I brought with me from Korea and/or my last trip to the states is finally wearing out.
Like my “every day” footwear. Now these shoes are only good for Sundays. Because they are so holey…*ahem*After failing to find my size in a couple of other brands and styles I liked I settled for these Skechers. Only set me back P3000 ($60.) They feel comfortable thus far.I also needed some new shorts. I was lucky to find some I liked on sale for P900 ($18.) each.
I was only going to buy two pair but when I got to the checkout the cashier told me they had a promotion going on where I would get P200 in coupons for every P2200 that I spent. Hmm, so I grabbed the third pair of shorts.
Then I immediately used the coupons to buy this 3-pack of socks that were coincidentally on sale for P200. Result! Oh, and I’d been searching all over for those round batteries for my bathroom scale. Found them in the Ace Hardware store next door! I was on a roll!
I recall shopping in the states and struggling to find anyone to assist me. Here they have tons of sales help and they were almost as aggressive as a thirsty bargirl. Almost. Anyway, they were very helpful in finding the sizes and colors I was looking for. I would much rather have too much assistance than not enough that’s for sure!
I told you it was an exciting day! Glad I was able to bring you along to share in it.
I’m not sharing my breakfast at Mango’s this morning with you though, come get your own! Those scrambled eggs with ham, tomato, and onion were outstanding.
What else? Well, Facebook reminds that it was ten years ago that my nephew Justin experienced Itaewon for the first time.
Cheers!
A peaceful morning walk. Even the National Highway was unusually quiet.
Were that it was always so. Usually, it feels like an accelerated Frogger game…
I’ll offer up this for today’s “interesting” photograph:
“‘Saks” of trash in the street waiting for collection. I was struck that this Saks sack was so far from 5th Avenue…
I think I figured out why I’m having such a hard time giving up ice cream:
Excellent advice, Mr. Hemingway. I will work more Ernestly at forgoing the sweets!
Here’s a shot of my boys out back guarding the neighbor’s chickens.
Although to be honest, I’m getting awfully sick and tired of the rooster crowing at o’dark-thirty every moring. Then again, that noise is one of the staples of living in the Philippines so I reckon I ought to just smile and embrace it…
I’m not sure I’ve ever posted a Gif here before, let’s see if this one works:
Where have you been all my life, sweetheart?
It worked! Now I’m REALLY excited! And there is even more excitement to come. I’ve got my first dental appointment here this afternoon. Nothing major, I had a filling fall out. Then again, this is the Philippines so we’ll see what happens.
As Kris Kristofferson sang long ago, “nothin’ ain’t worth nothin’, but it’s free.” I hope you’ll generously apply the same philosophy to this worthless post. Here goes:
A third-place finish in darts last night. Considering that both me and my partner were off our games that was a better than expected outcome. And yes, I lost to Steve, the Englishman who doesn’t drink. Ah well.
Now, in that paragraph above my Grammarly app is saying I should have written “both I and my partner”. Maybe so, but I don’t like the way that looks or sounds, so sue me if I won’t change it.
In the comments to my previous post, I learned that what little I thought I knew about French was wrong. Not really surprising seeing as how I have not even mastered the English language quite yet. I was reminded of that fact earlier when I came upon this passage on a forum I frequent:
The main official language is Filipino, though there are many regional dialects. You’ll find learning a Philippine language somewhat harder than Thai. They use the Latin alphabet, which helps, but they have a peculiar grammatical system (ergative/absolutive) which is hard for a westerner used to subjective/objective grammar to understand. It’s worth the effort though. Begin with about 20 phrases and 200 words of vocabulary and take it from there.
I have no clue what is meant by ergative or absolutive. Ergo, I’m absolutely sure that my very limited Tagalog (maybe five phrases and fifty words) won’t be showing much improvement anytime soon. That’s my subjective opinion at least, objectionable though it may be. (See what I did there? Man, I crack myself up sometimes!)
Notwithstanding the poor nature of my grammatical health, physically speaking I seem to be doing pretty well of late. This morning my blood pressure was a near-perfect 120/80. My resting heart rate was at 59 beats per minute, and my sleep score is also much improved. My focus now needs to be getting my weight down from the current 205 to something closer to 195. I haven’t gone full keto yet, but I’m trying to get by with two meals a day. It is my ice cream addiction that is tough to beat. That and the beer. We’ll see.
Alright, have you had just about enough of nothin’ yet? Good, me too! Let me leave you with today’s “interesting” walking photo:
Are you talking to me?
Freedom’s just another word for nothin’ left to lose, And nothin’ ain’t worth nothin’ but it’s free, Feelin’ good was easy, Lord, when Bobby sang the blues, And buddy, that was good enough for me, Good enough for me and my Bobby McGee.
A slow news day here in my little town so let me tell you what’s cooking:
The meat is a beef bottom round roast, The veggies are corn, tomato, onion, celery, carrot, and mushrooms. I got chided on Facebook for not including potato. Well, I’m still trying to limit carbs. And I didn’t feel like peeling a potato.It’s a sloppy picture (should have put it in a bowl) but the flavor was a cornucopia of tastiness. Very pleased with the meat this time; cut it with a fork-tender. Made a batch of cornbread to accompany the meal.And a batch of brownies. Those I’m bringing to the bar tonight to welcome Ester back after about a one-year hiatus.
Today’s “interesting” walk photograph:
Just a quiet street scene with a cat doing a photobomb.
Les choses de la vie. Impressed with my French? Don’t be, just something I came across in my internet wanderings today. The choices life makes for you. I guess that resonated because it aligned with some of what I was thinking as I walked this morning. I don’t want to cede control of my choices in life to chance or fate, but would I have chosen the life I’m living now had circumstances not created the “opportunity”? Yeah, all this time later I’m still thinking about what I had and what I lost. Which is not to say I’m unhappy with this life I’m living now. It is what it is and I’m making the best of it. Knowing me, if I was somehow magically carried back to that old life I’d probably find myself missing this one. Best to just accept les choses de la vie.
My internet travels also encountered a brief mention of a collection of Buddhist inspired short stories by a venerable Monk titled: Un arbre dans la forêt (The Tree that Hides the Forest). The only quotation offered from that book seemed to underscore my thinking:
Be mindful, don’t hang on to things but let go and surrender to the way things are.
Regarding yesterday’s Hash–I swear I will never complain about one of Günter’s trails again. I know this to be true because I will NEVER hike one again. I was leaning that way anyway, but still feeling chastened by my cowardice in Baguio, I decided I’d take a chance. I was encouraged by the fact that we were walking out instead of driving, so I figured I could easily bail whenever I’d had enough. Well, it didn’t turn out that way. Here’s how it went down:
The red line is the trail as laid out by the Hares. The green is the one the smart people did. I did a good portion of the red, much to my regret.And we are “On-On”So far, so good. I’d hiked this part several times before.It led us up into my subdivision, Alta Vista. Here’s some fine Filipina booty to whet your appetite…Exiting Alta Vista on another familiar path…Coming into the Marian Hills neighborhood. The houses here were built by U.S. Navy volunteers as a charity project back in the 1980s. And Buddy Fucker is pointing up at a big ass mango tree. Someone has wrapped each piece of fruit in a paper bag to keep the bugs and birds away. That must be a helluva job, and the ladder indicates they ain’t done yet.
Alright, so I’m thinking this isn’t going to be so bad. I was contemplating the possibilities of where we might start climbing from here, and I knew of two likely trails. But I was wrong about that. Once we got into Marian Hills, the marked path had us enter a dry creekbed. I’m thinking what the hell? So, I continue on and it was pretty disgusting. People had been using the creek as a trash receptacle and it was littered with all kinds of garbage, including a significant number of used diapers. It was literally a shit creek.
Further up the creek was this abandoned and destroyed shack. The previous occupants had apparently left all their clothes behind to be strewn upon the hillside.
And then things took a turn for the worse. Or should I say that Günter didn’t disappoint? The creek bed turned into a steep uphill climb that required crawling up and over boulders.
What the hell?Are you fucking serious?What kind of bullshit is this? OH NO YOU DIDN”T!
But yes he did. Part of the climb up actually required a rope that the Hares gleefully provided. Bastards! Well, too late to turn back now.
Bush Diver was ahead of me on the trail. He got part way up and said: “I can’t make it!”. One of the gals who had gone before him leaned down and extended her hand to help pull him the rest of the way up. I’m not sure how she did that without being disastrously pulled down herself. Penis Colada handled the rope like a champ though and then assisted her elderly husband up too.
We all got to the top without injury. I was pissed though. And then we almost immediately started a steep and slippery downhill trek. One guy eventually gave up trying to keep his feet and slid down on his ass. My walking stick served its intended dual purpose of keeping my balance and being my brake.
A view on the way down.Flowers in the treetops……and growing on the ground.
Once we reached the bottom there were only four of us left in my group (I had waited on the elderly guy and his wife to make sure they made it down okay). I recognized that the trail was going to go up again through a different, albeit not as steep, creekbed. We were nearly an hour and a half into the hike at this point so I asked if anyone wanted to shortcut the trail. There was hearty and unanimous agreement with my suggestion. So, shortcut we did! Made it back on-home at Treasure Island at 5:30 after our abbreviated 6K hike.
I saw Bush Diver at Treasure Island and asked what he thought of the trail. He commented that it “separated the real Hashers from the wannabes.” I told him I disagreed because a real Hasher wouldn’t put other Hashers in unnecessary danger. He just walked off. Later in the circle when we provide our customary feedback to the Hares, Bush Diver repeated his comment about “real Hashers” and bragged that he had done the whole trail. Yeah, because someone was there to pull his ass up off a cliff. What a fucking cunt. And speaking of cunts:
That’s Günter (Vienna Sausage) on the left, with his partner in crime, Almoranus.
I’ve had all the shit from you guys I’m gonna take. I’m thinking whenever you next Hare I’ll offer up a “safe and sane”alternative trail. We’ll see who the “real Hashers” are then I suppose.
I’ve told a variation of this joke lots of times but never seen it as a meme.
Oh well. There is a Hash song that seems appropriate to the occasion:
Melody: Auld Lang Syne
Lyrics: Fuck off, you cunt Fuck off, you cunt Fuck off, you cunt, Fuck off Fuck off, you cunt Fuck off, you cunt Fuck off, you cunt, Fuck off Fuck off, you cunt Fuck off, you cunt Fuck off, you cunt, Fuck off Fuck off, you cunt Fuck off, you cunt Fuck off, you cunt, Fuck off
Baguio city that is. There’s a lot to like about Baguio, especially if you enjoy mountain vistas. It’s a green city with lots of forests, parks, and flowers. It’s the only place in the Philippines I’ve been where they emphasize protecting the environment. Still too much litter, but much cleaner than my home town. The poverty is not so much in your face here either. I’m thinking they move the squatters, shanties, and shacks outside the city limits. The infrastructure is also much better with generally wider streets and wonder of wonders, sidewalks! It’s a cool town too. Never seen so many sweaters and long-sleeved shirts since I made the move from Korea. I also saw quite a few locals out jogging which is pretty much unheard of in my area. Baguio is also a tourist destination and the summer home of the Filipino government. So it has quite a bit to offer in the way of accommodations, restaurants, and the like. All in all, a pretty fine city.
Would I ever want to live in Baguio? No, not really. I enjoy my annual visits, but honestly, that’s enough. It’s just too isolated for my tastes, and that trip up and down the mountain on a dicey two-lane road is potentially a killer. No real airport there either. I’m spoiled I guess by small-town life. I can walk from end to end of Barretto in about twenty minutes. And in that space, I can find numerous restaurants, beach resorts, and of course, bars. Baguio has all that (except beaches of course) but it is spread out over a wide area. Even as a walkaholic I’d need to cab almost everywhere I wanted to go. Just not the lifestyle I’m looking for these days.
I’ve got some pictures:
This bar/resto at my hotel complex served as the base of operations for the Hash. Last year it was named Sgt Peppers with a big Beatles motif. Now it’s Jeju, although the decoration still features Beatle’s memorabilia. What’s on the menu? All I saw were Western and Filipino dishes. Maybe things are still in transition.I enjoyed this club sandwich at Jeju for breakfast. Quite nice and very flavorful.I was a little surprised to see so many Korean places in Baguio. This grocery and restaurant were right next door to my hotel. And up the road a piece was another huge Korean grilled meat joint. I honestly didn’t see any Koreans around though. Go figure. Walked around a bit Sunday morning and came upon The Mansion. These days it serves as the summer home of the Philippine President.Here’s the history of the place in case you are interested. One of the reminders that Americans ruled the Philippines for 50 some odd years…Taking time to smell the flowers. Get over here bitch!Perhaps some would call this cultural appropriation, I prefer to think of it as Magellan’s nightmare! Yeah, I’m such a tourist. Dress up and photo for 20 pesos (40 cents), how could I say no?A nearby park offered horseback rides. Not sure why this pony was tied out here alone, but it made for a nice picture.I picked up some pasalubong (souvenirs), including this locally made strawberry jam.But my big find was some locally grown, fresh strawberries! It’s been a long time since I’ve enjoyed that sweet taste. A bit pricey (you are looking at about $8. worth here), but worth it to me.I turned one of those cartons into a blender full of strawberry smoothies! Sweet indeed!
So, one of the other Hashers from Subic posted his photos from the trail I chickened bailed out on. Damn, it looked like a great hike. But I was afraid the bridge crossing I was warned about would be like this one:
I won’t cross this bridge when or if I come to it (again).
Here’s the bridge from Saturday’s Hash:
It looks fine from a distance…Yep, I would have absolutely no problem with crossing this bridge. It looks sturdy and it has the side rails so I wouldn’t fall off even if I did lose my balance.
Well, I fucked up. Shouldn’t have wussed out on the trail. Lesson learned I guess.
Anyway, I have another Hash today. And Günter is the Hare. What could go wrong? Stay tuned.
Acrophobia? Gephyrophobia? Or maybe just plain old being a chickenshit? Back home safe and sound but thinking I shouldn’t be so risk-averse. Here’s the tale from yesterday’s Hash in the mountains of Baguio.
I had a bit of a hangover from my overindulgence the night before. So in preparation for the upcoming Hash I figured a full stomach was in order. Found this deserted restaurant right outside the hotel named “Roadhouse Barn”.The place was well-decorated. I rather liked this portrait of what I assumed to be the Board of Directors for the “Roadhouse Barn”.Had a double meat cheeseburger with fries. It was quite good.And washed it down with this strawberry shake. Yeah, I decided to reconvene the diet tomorrow.After lunch, I meandered next door to where the Hashers were gathering.
So, there was a long 9K runners trail, a 6K trail for those who preferred something shorter, and a “VIP” trail for folks who aren’t into a strenuous hike. My plan was to do the 6K which is appropriate for my speed. And then when the Hare was providing pre-departure instructions he made this comment: “Any of you on the 6K trail who have vertigo may want to go with the 9k instead, as there is a ‘hanging’ bridge to cross on the shorter trail.
Well, damn. On the trip up I had seen some real dicey looking pedestrian suspension bridges over large and deep chasms. I was thinking at the time “no way!” I also recalled the time I had to bail out on a river crossing here because I couldn’t deal with the scary and unstable bridge. So I was faced with a dilemma. We were going to be driven out and dropped off somewhere. If I was unable to make it over the bridge because of my cowardice I’d be stuck. The on-home was going to be somewhere out in the sticks as well, so even if I managed to find a way back to the hotel I wouldn’t be with the Hash group. And I just wasn’t feeling up to a 9K hike that the Hare described as “challenging”. What to do?
Years ago I had read a book called “Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway”. And so yesterday I felt the fear and did the VIP trail instead. Well, a modified version of the VIP trail.
This Jeepney was used to transport the beer and ice along with the 8 cripples (physically or mentally) to the on-home location which was also the starting point for the VIP trail. And the endpoint for both the 9 and 6K trails. My plan was to walk the 6k trail in reverse and if I encountered any bridge I could or would not cross I could safely retreat back on-home. It was a good long 45-minute ride up and down the mountains before we reached the on-home, which was indeed out in the middle of nowhere. As a VIP I was tasked with helping unload the beer.With the Jeepney unloaded, I began my quest. It’s not a good photo, but I was trying to capture how the houses in this area are just built randomly up on the mountainsides. My road was lonely and flat in the beginning. And then I encountered a Subic Hasher who had done the 6K trail. He was still running as he passed me by. As I continued onward I passed more and more Hashers going in the opposite direction. In fact, some were confused when they saw me, thinking they had somehow lost the trail. Probably around the 3K point of my hike, I met up with Leech My Nuggets who had done the 9K trail. I took this to be a good sign that I should turn around and head back to the on-home.It was nice to be moving in the right direction again. Even passed up some of the slower walkers along the way. Never did get to the bridge or even a hard climb. One of the Hashers that did the crossing showed me a photo. Damn it! That bridge would not have been a problem for me at all. It was solid and sturdy with netting on the sides. That’s what I need, just a sense that if I lose my balance I won’t tumble off the bridge. It’s the ones with only rope to hold onto that scare me. Oh well.This lake (or puddle) was so ugly I just had to take a picture. Anyway, I wound up doing a 6K trail after all. The on-home was in this flood control area. I thought about walking down to see the drop-off but thought better of it. Oddly enough, someone from the Barangay came by and told us the area wasn’t safe and advised us to be careful. His concern seemed a bit overwrought seeing as how there was not going to be any rain, let alone a flood.So we all safely drank our beers and waited for the circle to commence. It eventually did (a little boring compared to Subic as La Union professes to be a family Hash. So no real bawdiness). Then it was a long ass Jeepney ride back to where we had started where we drank more beers and were served a very nicely done buffet dinner.The Subic contingent in various stages of inebriation after our long day of Hashing.Another Hash, another Hash shirt.
I’ve got some photos from my morning in Baguio that I’ll share with y’all tomorrow. It’s a very nice city in many ways and I’ll talk about some of those things as well.
Greetings from Baguio, the mountain kingdom of the Philippines! Or at least the summer capital of the government. The American Embassy even maintains a residence here. Anyway, it’s a beautiful city covered in pine trees. It honestly feels like a different world up here compared to what I’m used to down by the water.
An uneventful 3+ hour drive to get here, and knowing my driver, that’s a good thing. Last night I got pre-registered for today’s Hash and then got drunk. The floored kind. Come to think of it, the last time I got floored was here in Baguio one year ago. Maybe it’s the altitude.
Anyway, that’s about all I have to report. Here’s a couple of photos from the trip:
These mountains are the real deal. Let’s hope the Hare for today’s Hash isn’t like Günter…I don’t know the story behind this gigantic lion head, but it is quite impressive.The view from my 9th-floor hotel room…
Oh, and the other thing is that it’s freakin’ chilly up here. I should have remembered that from the last trip and brought a light jacket or sweater. Everyone else did. Oh well. I should be fine while I’m hiking.
Fruits and veggies…Fish and flies…The fresh meat stand was very popular this morning. It appeared to be primarily pork.
Most of the time my walks are uneventful. But today I ran into a bunch of cocks:
I guess the chickens haven’t come home to roost…
The path through this neighborhood was fraught with obstacles:
I avoided stepping into the holes and avoided the trip hazards. Also ducked in all the right places. The natives appeared friendly at least.
I popped into Arizona Resort for a pee break and saw something fishy going on in the parking lot:
I’m guessing these will be on the menu today…
And as an update of sorts, here are some photos of the Miss Beach Bash winners by a more sober skilled photographer than me:
Casual wear winner.Second runner up…First runner up (and best in swimwear).Miss Beach Bash.
Speaking of beauty, Facebook reminded me of this photo from the past:
High school prom circa 1972 with my sweetheart Karen. I might have been high on pot at the time. My memory is a little fuzzy…
Karen and I are still Facebook friends. I sent her the photo and she laughed, then chided me for not remembering her birthday yesterday. Ah well.
This could be the reason my memory seems to be unreliable these days:
And the bars are all out of Zero! Story is there is a price increase on the horizon and the distributor is holding back stock so they can sell it for a bigger profit. Bastards!
Time to get some steps in. And I leave for Baguio in the morning. At least I’ll have some new sights to see. And of course, you’ll see what I saw right here at LTG!
Er, I mean witness. Yep, I finally got my time in front of the Barangay officials to explain what went down on that ill-fated boat ride.
Jeff (the accused) asked us all to report to the Barangay office at 1:00. And then we waited twenty minutes or so for the officiants to return from lunch break. Ah yes, they were on Filipino time. When I looked in the door I saw Resa and Hana along with their friend Eva, another participant on the boat trip, also waiting. I stayed outside until called upon.
I wasn’t sure what format the proceeding would take, one on one or as a group, but once called inside a conference room with a large table, I observed that Resa, Hana, and Eva were on one side, with two barangay officials at one end and a third on the other. Jeff had a total of six witnesses and we all crowded in on the other side of the table.
Based on my seating choice, I was called on first to give my account of events. To summarize, I stated the following:
Resa and Hana were both very drunk, having been drinking heavily from four bottles of Emperador rum all afternoon. When it was time to depart, Resa walked out on the narrow bow of the boat giving every indication she intended to jump off. The boat crew would not proceed with her not seated. So Jeff grabbed Resa and held her down in the bottom of the boat while others tried to get a life jacket on her. She continued to resist, so finally, Jeff released her and went back to his seat. At no time did Jeff punch, hit, choke, or otherwise harm Resa as alleged.
The other five witnesses for Jeff all stated pretty much the same thing. In support of Resa, Eva testified that there was no suicide attempt. She claimed that Resa merely wanted to pee. Eva claimed that Jeff had been unnecessarily rough and held Resa down in a chokehold. Whatever Hana said, she said in Tagalog so I have no clue. Resa didn’t say shit.
With witness testimony concluded the head of the Barangay delegation spoke. She told Resa that the people present were not strangers, rather they were individuals who cared about her well-being and did not want to see her get hurt. Next, she told us foreigners that we should not have intervened. If someone has to physically restrain a Filipino we should have another Filipino do so. Then she turned to Jeff and asked him if he would consider offering an apology. Jeff said he was sorry his actions had been misunderstood and sorry that he had gotten involved in trying to protect Resa. He promised he would never do so again.
And that was pretty much it for us. Apparently, there will be a final mediation session next week. The witnesses were advised that our services were no longer needed and we were excused.
So yeah, it was all basically a bunch of bullshit. If Resa proceeds with a criminal complaint I may have to testify again. I can’t believe that she will still pursue that course in the face of what she heard yesterday. Then again, she has demonstrated that she is crazy as a loon.
In happier news, I went out this morning with Pubic Head and Blow My Pipe to scout our upcoming (March 2) Hash trail. They let me take the lead and liked what I showed them. Still a couple of wrinkles to iron out, but we should have a nice “sane” trail of 6K with a 9K version for the runners. One climb and the rest gently rolling or flat. My kind of trail!
The view from the highest point on our trail…
For today’s “interesting” photo, I offer you the Department of Education’s Vision statement, as painted on a wall outside Barretto National High School:
Good luck with that!
I’m really happy to see that the President is not holding any grudge against Mitt Romney:
Good luck with that, Mr. Romney!
And at the risk of being accused of virtue signaling, I want to share with you my no meat commitment.
Yesterday’s so-called “Geriatric Hash” is in the books. And given my bitching the last couple of weeks about trails that were just plain outrageous I’m loathe to complain about this one. Much.
So here goes: The Hares did two trails–one for geriatrics and one for “runners”. I opted for the longer runners trail knowing in advance where most of it went. And as it turned out it was exactly the route I use for one of my regular morning walks. In fact, it was my Saturday morning walk this week and that’s how I discovered the portion of the trail that had already been marked.
Here it is in all it’s less than 5K flat pavement glory. I guess I shouldn’t complain, the geriatric trail was literally around the block…about a half kilometer at most.
And as it turned out only three of us managed to complete the runner’s trail. All those big strong guys who usually leave me in their dust were nowhere to be seen yesterday. Because they lost the trail. Yes, it was poorly marked. And to exacerbate matters, the Hares hadn’t bothered to erase or modify Hash markings from previous runs. So the majority of runners followed an old trail and by the time they figured out the error of their ways they said “fuck it” and kept on going. I avoided that fate simply because I had already seen where the true trail lay. Of course, me being a slowpoke I couldn’t share that bit of knowledge before the fast group made a wrong turn. Oh well.
Getting instructions from the Hare, Fucking Old Man, prior to our start.And we are On-On!
And in less than an hour I was On-Done. So that allowed more time for beer drinking prior to the circle. As the Hash secretary noted, we were losing money on this run because beer consumption was WAY up.
Oh, I got a new Hash shirt last night. A commemorative jersey from our ill-fated encounter with the Philippine Navy.
Designed by fellow Hasher Moaner Boner. Don’t bother trying to read the text, I’ve got better pictures to follow.And the back.
And the close-ups…
Front.Back.
Accolades to Moaner for a creative design. And yes, I notice the spelling/typo error of “unGodly”. On the other hand, our captors didn’t give us any gold, so in that sense it’s correct.
For today’s “interesting” photo, let me offer this:
This truck was parked near our starting point for the Hash. The “Tee Hee Screw Store” made me chuckle. Every girly bar in town is a screw store!
And that’s today’s report. Günter is the Hare next week so I expect a trail at the other extreme from yesterday. There’s nothing to be done about it, other than for me to potentially boycott the Hares that are just intentionally outrageous. Well, I’m going to set an example on the trail I Hare next month. I may even give it a name: The Sane Hash. One climb and 6-7 kilometers long. Plenty of flat, but off the payment and out in the scenic beauty of our surrounding countryside. If my fellow Hashers don’t like it all I can say is “fuck off!”. Damn, I really AM a grumpy old man!
An update on the Barangay situation coming tomorrow, such as it is.
I attended the annual VFW beauty pageant yesterday afternoon. Arrived a bit too late to get a great seat (last year I was a judge), but it was still an enjoyable diversion visually. The beer wasn’t cold and no Zero, but I made do with San Mig Light and a glass of ice.
What’s that? You want to see some photos of the lovely ladies? I think I have a couple here. Hold on.
Oh, prior to the contest President Trump dropped by…He gave a very political speech but the crowd must have all been Republicans because they cheered like mad.Alright, here is the lineup of contestants in swimwear. I’m not going to bother posting photos of the ladies is “casual wear”. I’m all about the skin…That’s Irene, a gal I know from darts (and deceased Greg’s former girlfriend).And that’s Ailyn, a Hasher.And the winner!
Anyway, it was something different and I was happy to support the work done by the VFW folks. In addition to helping out veterans in need, they do a lot of community charity. Things like purchasing wheelchairs or medical expenses for needy children.
As interesting as those photos of LBFMs above may be, they weren’t seen on my walk. So, I’ll submit this one for today’s “interesting” feature submission:
“I thought I saw a puddy cat”. I don’t know, Tweety. Lucks like you are fucked either way.
I’ve mentioned before how Lucky finds the oddest sleeping positions. When I saw him like this last night it cracked me up:
Sleeping on the job! I keep my bedroom door propped open these days to facilitate the dogs chasing off any would-be burglars.
First out that is. Which is dart lingo for last place. So, I went from first to worst in less than 24 hours. And that is just the luck of the draw.
In a doubles tournament, your partner is selected randomly. So you take what you get and make the best of it. As an experienced player, I certainly understand and accept that sometimes your partner will suck. Actually, when I draw an inexperienced or weaker player I’ll try to mentor them some if they are receptive to that. Otherwise, I shrug it off and just try and have fun. There is one exception to that: I despise having a drunk partner. I wrote about Pierre, a fucking drunk from Sweden, I drew as a partner last month. Yep, you guessed it. I drew him again last night. So drunk he could barely stand. One out of three of his throws didn’t even hit the board. Seriously, who signs up to play in a dart tournament in that condition? Oh well, he gives new meaning to the word loser. For example, this morning as I’m walking I pass by Johansson’s and Pierre is sitting at the bar, drunk. At 9:00 a.m. He probably never went home last night. Glad I’m not him!
At least my early night was not a total waste. I had this waiting for me at home:
Pulled pork bbq, out of the crockpot and onto my plate. With cornbread and veggies of course!
Here’s today’s “interesting” photograph:
Ever been in an alley so narrow it felt like the walls were closing in? I have!
And in a Back to the Future moment, I found myself walking tomorrow’s Hash trail this morning:
Run #1387 has been deemed a “geriatric Hash”. I expect that means a flat trail on pavement. At least the part I walked today was. The Hare, Fucking Old Man, is in his late 70s. An easy trail should be a nice change of pace.
What else is going on? Well, a case of the virus epidemic has struck closer to home.
No, not THAT close! This is from Facebook reminding me that it was just 3 years ago that I received my COPD diagnosis.
The virus has made it’s way to my province of Zambales though. Still far enough away to not make me feel threatened, but still too close for comfort. I doubt with my diminished lungs I’d survive an infection. I’d keep my fingers crossed, but then I wouldn’t be able to finish this blog post.
I think I mentioned that I sponsored a hole for the VFW golf tournament fundraiser. Here it is:
I hope it wasn’t the wrong hole…
This evening I’ll be attending some other VFW Beach Bash events. No darts tourney this yeat though. I’ll try and get some pics of the Miss Beach Bash beauty pageant for y’all.
One thing I like about my house is I’m walking distance to the bars. But coming home always seems to be a longer journey.
Go figure.
That’s all for now. Well, here’s one of my favorite music videos:
Another dart tournament last night and another victory. That’s my partner Espie pictured above. She’s recently returned from several months in Sweden where she was visiting her fiance, Pierre. I guess on those long winter nights they passed the time throwing darts because her game has improved exponentially since the last time I saw her play. She was en fuego last night, certainly better than I was.
It was funny, when I first arrived at the bar she said to me “I hope we can be partners.” I responded, but you have a fiance! She clarified that she meant darts partners. And as fate would have it, that’s how it turned out. And yes, we beat Steve, the Englishman who doesn’t drink, along the way. In fact, we never lost a leg, winning all our matches 2-0. It was a lot of fun.
Today’s “interesting” photo from my walk:
This sign was posted at a sari-sari store on my route.
At first glance, I read it as “big ass frozen foods for sale”. Of course, what they mean is they have bigas (rice in Tagalog) and frozen foods for sale. I like my initial reading better.
Speaking of which, I’m not sure if I should be worried about the onset of old-timers disease or not. I re-read yesterday’s post this morning and noticed where instead of writing “feeling sorry for Lucky” I wrote “filling sorry”. Damn, how ignorant does that make me look? I mean, I make plenty of writing and grammatical errors out of pure ignorance. But trust me, I do know the difference between feeling and filling. Like after I read that post the feeling that I’m a crappy proofreader was filling my mind. Oh well, thanks for your indulgence dear readers.
No real updates on the Kung-fu virus here in the Philippines. A few more reported cases, but nothing in my neck of the woods. Although as an indication of just how powerful this plague truly is, I noticed this morning that it is actually changing the character of litter. I shit you not:
There’s just no masking what this virus can do!
That’s all for now folks. The road is calling to me, so walk I must.
I never apologize. I’m sorry, that’s just who I am.
A satisfying evening of darts yesterday. Win or lose I want to throw well, and last night I was at least decent. Far better than the last time I played. I drew a solid female partner and so did my friendly rival, Steve the Englishman who doesn’t drink. And as seems to frequently be the case, we went head-to-head in the winner’s bracket. The match went all three legs and I’ll confess to being somewhat surprised when we prevailed. Unsurprisingly, Steve and Jo came back up through the loser’s bracket to meet us again in the finals. And once again, Liza and I managed to eke out the win after three hard-fought legs. Heh, it’s fun to win a well-played tourney.
Good job partner!
In other news, Scott (Pubic Head) asked me if I’d do Monday’s trail with him (he’d missed the Hash). Well, I was planning on doing the Wednesday Walkers group hike anyway and I figured the devil I knew could be no worse than what those guys may have in mind. So, there I was again up on the big mountain. We did bypass one of the downs and ups, but still had 5K+ by the time we were back on the pavement. Neither of us wanted to complete the remainder of Leech’s original trail that I had failed to do on Monday.
That would be Scott navigating his way down through a dry creek bed near the end of our hike yesterday.
I did however finally finish the final portion of the trail for my morning walk today. It was a familiar stretch that joins up with My Bitch eventually.
The climb up consists of these tires……and these steps. Plus a bit more uphill on the trail. A good climb by itself, but at the end of a long-ass hike, it would have been a killer. Glad I had the good sense to quit on Monday while I was ahead. So, here is the entirety of Leech My Nuggets’ Hash trail which I managed to complete in only three days!
My offerings for today’s “interesting” photo feature:
I observed this kite-astrophe in Alta Vista.
I know I promised to bring you something other than flowers, but these were irresistible:
Not a leaf on this tree. I’d call it dead but for those three flower blossoms. Maybe that was Mother Nature conveying a message of hope–all is not lost!
So, I listen to music while I walk. I’ve created some “mixtapes” on the Spotify app, but sometimes I’ll just play a set of “created for you” selections Spotify thinks I’ll like. Now, at my age, I’ve heard just about everything (except the new stuff those punk-ass young folks listen to). And most of the songs Spotify chooses for me are familiar. But then I heard one that was completely new to me and I actually liked it! Great musical beat, but the lyrics really grabbed me for some reason. The song is San Francisco B.C. by a group called Silver Jews. Never heard of them either. Anyway, give it a listen if the mood strikes you.
Old San Francisco, San Francisco B.C. I lived with my true love and she lived with me “Romance is the douche of the bourgeoisie” Was the very first thing she imparted to me We had sarcastic hair, we used lewd pseudonyms We got a lot of stares on the street back then
Since her dad, a local barber, had been beaten to death She had become a vocal martyr in the vegan press The cops had failed, they couldn’t catch a bus They were looking for a male with a bad hair cut Enter tumbleweed, exit love and our affaire d’amour Was set on self-destruct
She said “you don’t make enough to provide for me” I said “what about the stuff that we quote believe?” She said “I left that on the sands of history I’ve found a new man to take care of me He dresses for success and emergency And he moves a lot of concrete on the QVC”
Middle-aged and deadly, like a cobra in the shade Sat in the midst of the smoke that he made His name was Mr. Games and he owned the place It was a lonely bar and grill in the Lower Haight He had a jeweler’s hands and a blurry face He knew I needed a chance so he gave me a break
“If I hire you now, can you start today? I got a high-rise job down by the bay Just a couple of rocks and some firearms There’s not many locks and just one alarm My step-son Gene will pick you up and drive Try to be his friend, he’s got a friendly side”
Doll-house lightning and the next thing I knew We were back at our point of rendezvous I was in the possession of burglary tools Children’s fur coats and diamonds and jewels Gene’s talking about insignificant shit Just like crooks in the movies when they do that bit
He said the power of metal will never be harnessed I thought the wages of metal should be heavily garnished We were waiting for his dad to meet us there Gene took off his hat and I noticed his hair It was neatly trimmed but a patch was bare I knew it wasn’t the wave, it was human error
Before I knew what I said, I said “killer cut” I watched him silently putting out a cigarette butt Then he came at me with some fist cuisine I had to duck aside and that was bad for Gene ‘Cause when he went by me he tripped and fell Through the glass coffee table at the Wong hotel
Right there and then Mr. Games walked in With my ex-true love on his gamy limb So her dad’s killer’s dad was her new beau And Games had a wife, whatta you know? She got real real quiet till we chucked the kid Then she went her way and I went his
Tuesday is the day I restock the larders here Casa Rosenda. That means taking a ride out to the Royal Duty-Free grocery store on the old Navy base. I was in for a couple of surprises yesterday. The first was discovering that after more than a month, shredded cheese was back in stock. Here was the second surprise:
Now, I’ve always had to pay a premium to get imported foods I crave. Last time this cheese was in stock it was selling for $6.50, which is about double the USA price. But over ten bucks? No way Jose!
Luckily for me, they had an off-brand available for half the price of Kraft, so I bought four bags of that. I was also pleased to discover that the long-absent tortillas were back on the shelf. I snatched four packs of those as well.
Together again at last!
The shopping excursion wasn’t a total success though. No fresh milk, so I had to buy the Filipino brand that sits on the shelf unrefrigerated. Truthfully it tastes fine, but I just can’t get my mind around milk that hasn’t been kept cold. I have no idea why it doesn’t spoil. I don’t think I want to know.
It looks and tastes like fresh milk. I bring it home and put it in the fridge. It’s fine, I’m sure. I just prefer to get my milk in the dairy section.
I was also disappointed that my favorite brand of cornbread mix was not in stock. Hell, I searched and searched and couldn’t find ANY cornbread on the shelf. I was about to give up when I turned the corner in the baking goods section and spotted two lonely bags sitting on a shelf with unrelated items. I carted them both.
Marie Callendar’s is my second favorite brand so I felt lucky to be bringing her home with me.
And that’s the way it pretty much goes here. I’ve learned to buy in quantity when something is in stock because invariably it will all be gone on a subsequent visit. So yeah, I’m lucky to have a supermarket nearby that even carries these imported goods. That doesn’t mean I can’t bitch and moan when they can’t seem to have the foresight to order fast-selling items far enough in advance to keep them in stock. And yes, I’m living a blessed life if I can devote a blog post to my disappointments at the grocery store.
Anyway, I was finally able to enjoy one of my favorite treats for lunch today:
A homemade burrito! It’s been a while, I’ve missed you, baby!
Yesterday’s walk took me out near Easter mountain:
It was a beautiful afternoon for a hike. It’s actually almost cool (relatively speaking) this time of year. Low humidity and a very nice breeze. Barely broke a sweat on a two-hour walk.
And here’s my submission for the “interesting” photo from that hike:
That’s one way to take out the trash I suppose. Those white bags are a good 8′ above street level. Certainly out of reach for any trash collector who might happen by. Maybe the person responsible is trying to make some kind of statement. Whatever that statement might be, it doesn’t seem to translate to English…
And finally, I’m glad to have found some confirmation that the brain exercises I perform on a nightly basis have some scientific foundation. Cliff Claven can’t be wrong! I used to be a mailman too after all.
Survived another Hash despite the best efforts of the Hare, Leech My Nuggets.
The Hashmobile ride out to the trailhead is always my least favorite, and arguably, the most dangerous part of the Hash.Stretching our legs after disembarking from what was thankfully only a 15-minute ride.And we are ON-ON!
Actually, at first, I was pleasantly surprised. We did the big mountain but the climb up was via the ridge road, the easiest way to the top. Relatively speaking anyway.
I always enjoy hiking the ridgeline (once I’m up there). Look left and you can see Olongapo City……and look to the right to see Barrio Barretto and Baloy Beach.
So once we were up on top, a couple of us were openly speculating about what lay in store for us. When we started heading back down a little-used trail, Buddy Fucker said: “this can’t be right, it’s too soon”. Well, I’ve always given Leech credit for being the best there is at marking a trail, so there was no question we were on the intended path.
And so down we went.
Honestly, it was a reasonably pleasant hike down. Still, in the back of my mind, I knew we were a long way from our On-Home at Baloy Beach and I feared that meant at least one more climb was in my future. Nothing to be done about that now, so I decided to just enjoy my unfamiliar surroundings.
About three-quarters of the way down, we came to a land of broken dreams. Several houses had been destroyed. This one still had some contents like clothing inside. Speculation was it was a government eviction of squatters, but who knows?I’m not sure how this photo came out so wrong. That tree limb was actually a handrail for a rather steep climb down to that rickety footbridge at the bottom. Ah, I think I had my camera on a zoom setting without realizing it…Another abandoned/destroyed house. The trail actually took us THROUGH this one…The pleasantness was about to end as sure enough, Leech had us climbing back up to the ridge road.
It was a tougher uphill than the first one, but certainly nothing as bad as Günter likes to put us through. Of course, if we had been more forward-thinking we’d have just stayed on the ridge road and avoided the additional ups and downs. But where’s the fun in that, right?
After marching forward for a good bit, the powder on the ground indicated it was once again time to descend from the mountaintop. My group determined that regardless of the Hare’s intentions, this would be our final trip down for the day. Ha Ha! What did we know? Leech’s path meandered down for a while, then up again, then down–and there was seemingly no logical place to exit this roller coaster. Good one, Leech!
How do we get out of here? Just keep plodding forward and hope for the best…
As per usual, I was at the back of the pack. We’d been on trail for an hour and a half with no end in sight. Well, the end of daylight was fast approaching and that always makes me nervous. It took another thirty minutes to finally get off the mountain and back onto the pavement. Some of the group took a trike to Baloy but I was too stubborn to ride back. As it was, I was shortcutting a good 3K from Leech’s trail, which included another climb. Had I attempted that I’d be walking in the wilderness in the dark. No thanks!
I made it back to Da’Kudo’s on Baloy about five minutes before the circle activities began (I usually have close to an hour to drink up some free beer and eat something beforehand). Once again my bitch this week is that the trails are just too damn long for this time of year. Even with the shortcut I took, the sun was almost down when I arrived On-Home. I know I’m old and slow, but damn it’s getting ridiculous.
The long and winding road. Right at 9K according to my Strava app.
Alright, enough grumpiness. Except for being too long, I enjoyed being out there for most of it. I’ll try and do the part I missed tomorrow.
On-On!
UPDATE: Well, that’s a hoot. I used the “Too much of a good thing” title back in May 2016. That post was all about me achieving a 25,000 step goal. And I did it on the flat ground of the Han River bike path. Ah, those were the days. Some nice pictures brought me a flood of memories as well.
Another day in paradise. What can I say? Well, how about this:
We had our first virus-related death in Manila over the weekend. In what may or may not be related news, yesterday a “Chinese-looking” man collapsed on the sidewalk in Manila, and the passerby wouldn’t go near him. I about laughed out loud when I read that after the authorities arrived it turned out to just be a drunk Korean. Fun times!
When I was out surfing this morning I came across this article in Reason: “How the War on Sex Crushes Underprivileged Women”. It mirrors something I’ve been arguing for years–prostitution is not automatically sex trafficking, in fact, that is rarely the case from everything I’ve seen. Especially here in the Philippines. The “go-go” bars are dens of prostitution but I have never met anyone here who was not engaged in that profession by choice. The bars are always advertising for “dancers” and the pay is decent by local standards. Once hired, no one is forced to go with a customer and there are no repercussions for refusing to do so. In fact, I chuckled this morning when I read on one of the local forums about guys complaining the girls are asking for too much money for their puki. I chimed in with this:
Girls get to set their price subject to negotiation. It’s their body after all. Don’t like their final offer? Walk away. If everyone refused to pay more than 2,500 it wouldn’t be long before the price was 2,500. I’m not saying it will be easy. These highly educated bargirls are savvy negotiators. They’ve probably all read “The Art of the Deal”. Still, stand your ground. Or pay their price. One of those.
Anyway, periodically the police will shakedown a bar for bribes raid a bar and arrest the manager and mamasan for prostitution crimes. The girls are carted off to some shelter and a press release says they were “rescued”. Rescued from what? A job that enabled them to support their families (whether they went with customers or not)? And when the bars are closed down, those rescued girls wind up selling their wares from the street, without the comfort and protections (like weekly health checks) provided by the bars. I’m no fan of prostitution and rarely partake myself, but these adult women should be able to sell their ass-ets if they choose to do so. If a man can sell his body carrying bricks on his back for a living, a woman should be able to make money laying on her back. Fair is fair.
In other news, I made up a batch of chili yesterday.
I thought it was a little too bland for my taste. The cornbread though was outstanding!
Regular readers know that I’m no Kevin Kim–I don’t make anything from scratch. But living here in the PI I don’t always find my preferred brands of baking mixes. Last time I went shopping for a cornbread mix, this is what I found:
Never heard of it before. I used to find Marie Callender’s here. That didn’t require me to add melted butter, but oh well.I was really surprised when I opened the box and saw these packets. The box flaps said, “we measure–you mix”. Well, okay then. And as I say, it’s the best damn cornbread I’ve ever baked. Hope I can find it again!
Things of interest from my walk include:
A big ass carabao with a “don’t fuck with me” look on his face.And this sari-sari store.
What was interesting about the sari-sari? Yeah, I walked by at least 50 of them this morning. But this one caught my eye because of the name. And now my mission will be to search until I find a store named “Mortis”. Hey, it’s something to strive for, right?
I’ve got the Hash this afternoon. Leech My Nuggets is the Hare, so I’m sure there will be a mountain or two in my future. Coincidentally, Facebook reminded me that I was climbing mountains two years ago today as well:
It’s a tad warmer today though.
Dance, they said Life is only for the moment The light is brief, Don’t waste it. The taste is sweet so taste it. So I said I understand, I’m dancing as fast as I can.
