There are always going to be good days and not-so-good days in life. My yesterday fell somewhere on the lower end of that spectrum. Not bad or tragic, but not altogether enjoyable either.

It started with my morning walk. I was doing my standard 8K streets of Barretto walk. It was hot, and I began feeling a little light-headed early in the hike. I’ve also been experiencing some lung issues, so I took a couple of squirts from the inhaler I always carry in my pocket. It didn’t seem to help much, but I plodded on. Finally, at about the 6K mark, with the climb back up to Alta Vista still looming, I gave up and caught a trike home.

I’m not sure what is going on with my health these days. My blood pressure has been in the 140s/80s range for a couple of weeks now. I used to be in the mid-130s or lower. My resting heart rate is up from the mid-60s to the low 70s. I have had some shortness of breath problems, not just on the hikes but even in bed at night. I use my nebulizer daily now when it used to be just a once in a while thing. Might be time to schedule a doctor’s visit.

I started my regular Thursday evening bar crawl at Hideaway bar, on the other side of town, but I needed to get some of the steps in that I missed on my aborted morning walk. I had a large pizza (Hawaiin with pineapple, sue me! it’s what the girls like) delivered. Yeah, feeding the hungry is part of my mission in the bars, doncha know? I’m continuing with my gin/soda and using beer to slow down my intake of the hard stuff routine. I probably need to slow down some more. I had three gins before I finished my first beer. And then the owner sent me over a free beer which I, of course, politely accepted. Joy and her pal Jen had the barstools on either side of me, and I was naturally plying them with lady drinks. Oh well, it’s all part of the fun, I suppose.

Finished my freebie beer, then headed out. Next stop, Cheap Charlies. My, how times have changed. There was one big spender who had half a dozen girls drinking with him. Good for them! Two of my regulars were also busy with another customer. I was drinking alone (which does save money) when a bargirl I see infrequently sat down beside me. I engaged in a little small talk, and then I asked her to get me another drink and to get a lady drink for her. She brought me my drink and then disappeared for ten minutes or so. When she returned, she still didn’t have a drink, and I reminded her I had offered one. She told me she had something to do and then walked away again. I looked later and saw her sitting by the cashier, playing on her phone. Well, okay then. Never had a bargirl reject my offer of a drink before, but there’s a first time for everything, I suppose.

I let it bother me a lot more than I should have. I honestly don’t mind drinking alone. But to be ignored entirely (I had to get up and order my second beer) was irksome, especially when I recalled all those recent times when I’d been the only customer and felt sorry enough for the girls to buy them all a drink and some food. It just seemed disrespectful somehow. Of course, I’ve always known that the bargirls aren’t really my friends; their job is to pretend that they are. Some of them are pretty damn good at it, too. Anyway, the masks were off last night. Even my two regulars ignored me after their customer was gone. So, that’s fine. I’m not sure if, or when, I’ll be back to Cheap Charlies. I do know I will not be buying any lady drinks there in the future.

Life moves on, and so did I. I crossed the street for one of my rare visits to Hot Zone. I was the only customer, which was pretty surprising. Several very attractive dancers were on the stage. Jay, the owner and former Hash Grandmaster joined me at my table. He then called all the dancers down who were braless to join us for a lady drink (he paid, not me). Only one girl was left on stage; I guess she has motivation now to lose some of her underwear. I bought my friendly, smiling waitress a drink before I left.

I finished the night at Wet Spot being snuggled by Aine. It was nice to be next to another great pretender. I ordered her some nachos as a reward.

And yes, if that’s as bad as things get around here, I’m certainly living a pretty charmed life.

It’s a new day, and I started mine this way:

And speaking of “B’s,” I made a batch of these to take to Alley Cats when I play darts later this afternoon:

I nebulized before the hike this morning and did not experience any issues on the trail. It was still hot, though. Pictures from that adventure will be posted here tomorrow. See you then!

I never really had a plan for life, I just reacted to it. Whenever I reached a crossroads, I chose a direction and followed the road without a clue as to where it might take me. I guess it is natural to wonder about the paths that would have led to a different life, but you only get to live the life you chose. No mulligans. But I have been extremely fortunate and blessed. The roads I have taken have led to some great adventures and life-altering experiences. A fool’s luck perhaps, but even though I could never have imagined what my life would turn out to be, it has been a very nice ride. So it is time to look forward again. And it will be an adventure with an uncertain outcome for sure.

I originally wrote that on New Year’s Day 2005 as I contemplated my future life in Korea. I quoted it again in a post I wrote on my last day in Korea. And here I am on the eve of my fourth year in the Philippines. Things haven’t exactly gone the way I imagined they might, but things are good enough for a fat old fuck like me.

Speaking of fat, I’m kicking off a plan to try and lose some of this belly. It’s so out of control that one of the female Hashers blurted out last night, “I can’t believe how big your stomach is!” Ouch. I checked the scale this morning, and it registered 216.1. Yikes. My goal has always been to stay under 200 pounds, but 215 is my redline. Looks like it’s time for some lifestyle changes. At this point, I’m not planning to do anything really extreme. Obviously, I need to cut WAY back on my beer intake. And at the grocery store today, I showed the self-discipline to avoid buying my usual weekly gallon of ice cream (1/2 vanilla, 1/2 rocky road). The problem is when I drink all that beer and come home. I seem to lack the ability to refrain from eating ice cream like there is no tomorrow. I always have an excuse–eating a bunch tonight is no more calories than eating a little over several days–but obviously, that’s just wishful thinking. So, less beer, fewer sweets, more exercise, and maybe skip a meal most days. That’s the plan anyway.

The big news around here is that the Philippines has elected a new President: Ferdinand Bong Bong Marcos. If that name sounds vaguely familiar, it’s because Bong Bong’s dad was the infamous former president/dictator. Ferdinand Sr. even puts Hillary to shame, holding the Guinness World Record for the largest-ever theft from a government. He won in an apparent landslide, so I suppose the age-old question of which old saying: “you can’t judge the son by the sins of the father” or “the fruit doesn’t fall far from the tree” is correct.

Alright, let’s get to yesterday’s Hash. I wound up doing a long and solitary trail. It was my choice to do it that way. I hate riding in the Hashmobile, so I opted to walk the 3.3K to the trailhead from my house. The Hares, Leech My Nuggets, and Fuck A Duck had a long and a short option. I took the shorter 5K version. When I reached the start, I decided not to wait for the other Hashers to arrive and set out on my own. I won’t usually hike in the hills when I’m unfamiliar with the terrain, but Leech always makes a well-marked trail, and I knew if I got into some kind of trouble, the other Hashers were only thirty minutes or so behind me.

I’m adding additional photos from the Hash page as usual. Mine are especially boring this week since I was the only Hasher in sight.

The liquor ban was still in effect, so we all stayed longer than usual at the On-Home (we usually pack up and head out to a local bar for some post-Hash drinking. It was odd to be stumbling home in the dark, but I made it without incident.

And that was my Monday.

It turns out the locals don’t call me the cookie man after all. I had two different “customers” thank me for the biscuits yesterday. Who knew?

In the first case, I got a message from a Facebook “friend” named Jenny that I’ve never met or talked to (yeah, I’ve got lots of those for some reason) saying she had seen me hiking in San Isidro. Jenny also mentioned seeing me giving biscuits at the house across the street from her. Her daughter wanted to know why the Kano (foreigner) didn’t give her any. I explained that the kids across the street from her were my regulars and that it was also my last bag of cookies.

Anyway, we wound up chatting, and she seemed pretty nice. She told me she did house cleaning and laundry and wanted to know if I needed any help. I explained that I have a full-time helper already. Then I said half kiddingly that I could always use a massage (yeah, I had been scrolling her FB photos, and she looked pretty good). Somewhat to my surprise, she agreed to come and do a massage. So, I arranged to meet her near her place and show her the back way into Alta Vista.

At the appointed time, I headed down the hill and was most of the way to her place before we met on the road. Oh my, Jenny was much heavier than her photos had led me to believe! Well, not that it mattered. After all, this was just gonna be a massage. Okay, maybe my little head was disappointed, but that’s often the case of late. So, after a brief exchange of greetings, we headed back up the hill to my place.

The total distance from where we met to my house is just under one kilometer. Granted, a lot of it is uphill (it’s a 30-meter climb). But between there and here, Jenny had to stop and rest at least a half dozen times. I was shaking my head in disbelief that anyone could be that out of shape. In fact, I asked her if she was a smoker or had lung issues. Nope, just not used to walking, she said.

Anyway, we finally made it to my humble abode. Jenny had some water and rested up a bit, and then it was time to get to work. She gave a decent massage, but nothing special. And nothing even approaching “inappropriate” touching, let alone a happy ending. And that was fine by me. When it came time for me to pay, I handed her 1000 pesos. She was surprised and said, “that’s too much!”. I was surprised because I’d never heard a Filipina utter such words. She was right, of course. The same massage in a parlor would have cost me less than 400 pesos. Still, it was Mother’s Day, so I just told her to keep the change. I also gave her a bag of biscuits to take home to her daughter. I then walked her back down the hill to make sure she’d make it home okay.

Since I’d forgone my morning walk for the unsatisfying massage, I decided to take the long way home. I regretted it almost immediately because it was frickin’ hot in the midday sun. By the time I reached the National highway, I’d had enough. I was also hungry. And there across the street sat the local Jollibee franchise.

And yes, like the wimp that I am, I took a trike home. Hey, I didn’t want my food to get cold. Yeah, that’s my excuse!

So, today is election day in the Philippines. Foreigners are not supposed to involve themselves in national or local politics, so I won’t. I’ve heard a couple of people complaining that they hadn’t received their 1000 pesos for voting. Yeah, that’s right. Candidates here can pay people to vote. Upon reflection, I guess that’s more honest than just stealing the votes like they do back in the USA.

That liquor ban doesn’t directly apply to foreigners, but establishments that want to sell booze to tourists and expats have to apply for an exemption. I guess it is a bureaucratic hassle because most bars just said “fuck it” and closed. I walked from one end of Barretto to the other and didn’t see anyone openly selling my beverage of choice. Remembering my lockdown days experience, I visited a certain hotel bar that had been my speakeasy. A brief chat with the manager, and I was good to go. My San Mig Zero was served discreetly in a coffee mug. Tasted good just the same.

Several beers later, I heard from a friend who advised a certain beach bar on Baloy was serving foreign customers. I was ready for a change of scenery, so I hoofed it on down the highway. As I walked on Baloy road, I noticed one of the resorts had a bar full of people drinking beers from bottles, so I guess they must have gotten the exemption permit. The beach bar hadn’t, but no one seemed to care. We were drinking openly there too.

It was while I was imbibing at the beach bar that the second biscuit coincidence took place. When I had been walking out on the Govic highway, I encountered a youngster I had seen before in Barretto. She walks the streets selling lumpia to bar patrons and the like. I had bought from her recently to feed the bargirls at It Doesn’t Matter. She usually has her two young sisters with her as well. I’m not sure how old she is, but I’d guess twelve or so. Friendly and sweet, and when she smiles, she reveals a mouthful of broken and rotting teeth. It’s actually kind of sad, but I do respect that she’s out there earning what she can rather than begging. Anyway, when I saw her and the sisters while hiking, I naturally gave them a bag of biscuits. And then yesterday, there she was at the beach bar with her basket of lumpia and sisters in tow. She gave me that big smile and said, “remember me? You gave me biscuits”. I told her, of course, I remembered and asked her if she had walked all the way to Baloy from her home in San Isidro. “Yes, sir.” Wow. That’s quite a hike, probably 4K one way. I bought her and her siblings a coke, and they went on about their business. What a life!

After a bit, I decided to walk on up the beach and see what else might be happening on election eve.

Turns out Da’Kudos was also openly selling alcoholic beverages. Naturally, I wanted to reward their good intentions, so I stopped in for a couple more before calling it a night and heading home.

It’s Hash Monday, so I won’t have to go looking for an open bar tonight. We are doing the On-Home at the Hare’s house right here in Alta Vista. Look for a full report on those events tomorrow.

Now, I don’t want to give the impression that my life revolves around beer. But these memes speak to me somehow:

Anyway, it’s all good. Glad to still be in the game.

I went on a date last night. A first date. With a gal I met on a dating site called Date in Asia. First time I went out with someone I met on that particular platform. She’s a local woman (lives in Barretto) named Jane. Thirty-five years old, one teenage son. Says she used to work in housekeeping at the Thumbstar hotel before the scamdemic; now, she helps out at her sister’s foodery in Subic. She drinks San Miguel Light beer. That’s about all I know so far.

Jane lives on Rizal street, so I took her to the Arizona resort relatively close by.

Jane had a Filipino dish, the name of which I don’t recall. I had some baby back ribs.

After dinner, I invited Jane to come with me to John’s place for some more beer. She’d never been there and seemed to like the third-floor open-air ambiance.

How did the date go? It went okay. I didn’t feel a strong attraction, but she seems like a nice woman. She expressed an interest in joining a hike with me, so perhaps that will be our second date. We shall see.

I was going to title this post “First date”, but it turns out I’ve used that title previously on a post about my first date after moving to the Philippines. That was with Marissa. Kind of made me sad after re-reading it.

Well, here it is Mother’s Day, and I’m also thinking about my mom. This makes eleven years of missing her on the day devoted to mothers.

That’s all I’ve got today.

…and that’s music to my ears. I don’t feel like she’s trying to play me or pull my strings. Her seemingly good heart will be instrumental in whether we will go forward in concert. Her performance over the past couple of days led to a symphony of emotions and a satisfying climax.

Okay, I’ve stretched that pun just about as far as it is going to go, but it was fun (for me). Anyway, the point is, I enjoyed Lyn’s short visit and that’s a good start. I’m not feeling any of the love emotions at this point, but she is very high on the companionship scale. Honestly, that may be more than enough at this stage of my life.

Lyn had to leave early because there was no one at home to watch over her nine-year-old son. She wants to bring him with her the next time she visits. I asked where he would stay and she said she’ll get them a room. I know a mother is always going to put her child first, so it’s not a matter of whether I like it or not. I suggested a couple of hotels with nice pools they would enjoy. She plans to bring a helper to watch the boy while we go out. We’ll see how that works out.

Our last morning together was pleasant enough. I asked Lyn if she would like to join me for a hike and she agreed.

I took her on an abbreviated one-hour version of one of my standard hikes. She seemed to enjoy it.

We concluded our jaunt with breakfast at Harley’s on Baloy Beach road.

Once we returned to the house we just hung out some on the back patio. Another positive for Lyn is that she likes my boys. I brought home some leftovers from breakfast and she insisted on treating Buddy and Lucky.

A short nap, then it was time to head back into town to catch a ride to the bus station in Olongapo. We had a quick lunch at Mango’s prior to Lyn’s departure.

When lunch was done we stood on the highway waiting for a Jeepney. It was hot. Then a cab pulled up and I put Lyn in it and gave her the fare. A much more comfortable ride and she deserved it.

The house felt really empty when I got back home. It’s funny how quickly you get used to having someone around. But then it was Saturday evening and it was time once again for me to hit the town. I like to start early (around 4:30 or 5:00) and finish early (before 9:00), but now that the curfew has been lifted quite a few bars are opening as late as 6:00. I still have coupons to burn and the May 8 expiration date is fast approaching. Hot Zone and Wet Spot were on my itinerary, but both hadn’t opened when I first passed by so I made It Doesn’t Matter my first stop.

After a couple of beers, the coveted 6 p.m. opening hour was upon me. But rather than deal with the “first customer of the day” syndrome, I thought a quick snack at Sit-n-Bull was in order. I was delighted when I looked in the cake and pie cooler to see one last pecan pie available for purchase. When I pulled it out, the gals thought I was there for takeout and had a bag ready to go. Nope. I explained I wanted the pie heated in the microwave, and then I wanted a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. Yes, sir! My waitress wanted some ice cream too, so of course, I accommodated her request. And to be fair, I bought a scoop for the other five waitresses.

With the pie safely stashed away in my stomach, I made my way to Hot Zone. It was still early, but there were a couple of other customers in the bar. My coupon here was “buy a lady drink, get a customer drink”, which meant I needed to find a worthy lady. My waitress is my usual suspect, but she dropped my beer at the table and disappeared. There were five dancers on stage, but none of them really tripped my triggers. I finally decided on one dancer but a guy at the other table beat me to the punch. Oh well. My beer was now empty and my waitress still had not returned. Fuck it then, I’m out of here. Paid my tab and approached a guy I’m slightly acquainted with who was sharing a drink with the mamasan. I gave him my two coupons and said it looks like you can use these more than I can.

Wet Spot was my next stop. I used a “buy one, get one” customer drink coupon and got down to work. The dance crew at Wet Spot was much better than what I had just seen at Hot Zone. I was using my imagination as the girls danced when my carnal thoughts were interrupted by Aine joining me at my table. Well, I did have a “buy a lady drink, get a customer drink” coupon to use, so I welcomed her company.

Anyway, Aine asked the waitress to take a picture of us together.

I wasn’t feeling it last night, so I finished the beers in my queue, paid my tab, then made my way for the door. Once again, Daddy Dave was there and foisted a free beer on me. How could I refuse? A brief chat, including the sad tale of a 72-year-old expat who is sitting in jail because of false charges brought against him by a disgruntled bargirl. That is my nightmare scenario, and I always do my best to keep my drunken self out of any kind of trouble. Just be nice to everyone and walk away from the assholes.

Just a tad past 8 p.m. when I grabbed a trike for home. I enjoy my beers and chatting with the gals, but after a couple of hours of that nonsense, I’m ready to call it a night. That’s just how this old guy rolls these days.

That’s today’s update. I’ll probably burn up a couple more of my bar coupons tonight and take it from there. It may not be much of a life, but it’s the best life I’ve got.

Here’s a way to kill a few minutes. I got 26 out of 30 right, including some lucky guesses. Must have been one of those increasingly rare lucid moments for me.

Here we go again.

Too soon to assess what I feel about Lyn so far. No fireworks, bells, or whistles; but no big red flags either. She arrived at my door at lunchtime and was hungry, so I walked her down to Sit-n-Bull for some lunch.

After lunch, Lyn waited patiently while my bakla barber gave me a haircut. Lyn said he/she did a good job. We next visited the 7/11 where I bought her some glue to repair the shoes she’ll be hiking in later this morning.

We took a trike back home and then took a nap after consummating our new relationship, such as it is. I only tend to nap for an hour or so, but she was still sleeping at 5:00, so I had to wake her up. Didn’t want to have to walk into town in the dark.

I was going to start off the evening at the Central Park Reef hotel so she could see the view from the rooftop there. She reminded me that she had been there with the woman who introduced us on her last visit. Okay then, never mind. We crossed the highway again and I took her to my overall favorite bar, It Doesn’t Matter. I had my usual Zero beer, and she ordered a margarita. I was a little surprised when she told me she doesn’t like beer and doesn’t drink much alcohol either. In fact, that margarita lasted the length of our entire visit (four beers for me).

A bit of a hiccup at first, when one of my favorites at IDM, Agnes, came over and started getting all cuddly with me. I saw a familiar look on Lyn’s face and really didn’t blame her, so I told Agnes I was on a date and she needed to back off. She did switch into waitress mode right away and there was no problem after.

Lyn is really into billiards, so I told her to go inside the bar which features two pool tables, and find a game. That’s what she did, playing against one of the waitresses. I checked in periodically and she really is a good player. In fact, she told me the waitress wasn’t much of a challenge. It was getting close to dinner time, so I said I’d take her to another place with a pool table and we’d eat there.

Next stop, John’s place.

It was getting close to 9:00, and that’s my bedtime, so we caught a trike home. Or thought we did. The driver passed by the entrance to Alta Vista, saying he needed to buy gas. I was thinking, WTF? Why pick up passengers on an empty tank? There was also a line of vehicles waiting to fuel up, so I said fuck it, we’ll get out here and catch another trike. In doing so, we had to pass through a fully manned police checkpoint. It hasn’t been a problem lately, but last night the cops said “where’s your facemask?” In my pocket where it belongs is how I answered in my head, but instead, I pulled my mask out like a good sheep and started putting it on. They asked Lyn too, but she hadn’t even brought one with her. She said she forgot and would get one at the 7/11 next door and they let us pass. Of course, I unmasked as soon as we were past them. We caught a trike and made it home without further incident.

I made us a mango/banana/pineapple smoothie for dessert which Lyn seemed to enjoy. Then it was off to bed–for sleep. Once a day for this old man is enough.

We are doing the Friday group hike together this morning so I wanted to dash off a quick report on our first day together. She’s still sleeping.

I’m not sure where I’m going or what I expect. I’ll try and figure that out as I experience more shared time with her. Oddly enough, I came across a post I wrote in 2017 where I quoted these words from Kevin Kim:

The Hindu concept of life is that it’s a painful wheel of existence called samsara.We’re chained to this repetitive, revolving wheel through our actions (karma). The object of the game is to gain enough wisdom about the nature of things so as to escape an eternity of repeating the wheel of life-events, again and again, all thanks to our accidental or deliberate unwisdom. Good luck as you examine deep causes and do your best to find liberation from the wheel (moksha) and bliss in your life (ananda). Every day is a new chance to walk a different path!

Here’s hoping this experience is better than my last one. Maybe not feeling that “love thing” like I did for the ex is the best course for me. We’ll see.

Well, it didn’t necessarily come easy–I worked most of my life to earn that generous government pension. Now my only job is to spend it wisely and make sure the money doesn’t run out before I do. I do maintain and loosely follow a budget, and most months I’m able to stick a few dollars in my savings account for a rainy day. Which is not to say I don’t occasionally go on a bit of a spending spree. Take yesterday as an example.

I did my weekly grocery shopping at Royal as usual. Total came to 9500 pesos (I use a 50 peso to the dollar as my rule of thumb conversion). I paid my driver 1200 pesos for his vehicle and time.

A friend has an ill and elderly father hospitalized in a city several hours from her. I sent her 7500 pesos so she could pay him a visit. I remembered how much it meant to my mother when I came home a couple of weeks before she died.

I gave my regular weekly stipend of 2000 pesos to the woman whose family I’ve “adopted” since her American ex-husband died and the support money he sent to feed his three kids ended.

I heard from another young woman who advised that school is starting next week and she needs to purchase uniforms for her two kids. She said she was willing to “work” for it and since she asked so nicely, I agreed. I paid her 3500 pesos for her efforts.

Later in the afternoon, I headed out to Alley Cats for the dart tournament. We played doubles again and for the second time in a row, I drew Anabelle as my partner. I wasn’t expecting much because there were some very strong teams in the mix, but to my surprise, we made it through the winner’s bracket undefeated.

Over the course of the evening, I bought two beer cards for me and several lady drinks for my partner, Anabelle. When it came time to pay the tab I owed 2100 pesos.

After darts, I hoofed it over to Sit-n-Bull for a late dinner.

The fish and chips were 350 pesos. I also got the last pecan pie available for another 350. I had the pie boxed up for take-out. Adding in the beer I enjoyed with my meal and a generous tip, my dinner excursion set me back an even 1000 pesos.

I took a trike ride home for 100 pesos. Got inside the house and realized that I had left my bag with the pecan pie inside the trike. Damn it! I was so craving that pie last night. Ate some rocky road ice cream instead, but it didn’t make me feel any better about my lost pie opportunity.

So, let’s total up how much my Tuesday set me back–hmm, 26,900 or $512.00. More than usual, but really not so bad considering the special circumstances I dealt with throughout the day. When I go out at night, I carry 5000 pesos with me. Most nights I don’t spend half of that. At this rate, I reckon I can keep on living large for the foreseeable future. My only real concerns are continued inflation and a fear that Brandon will cause the dollar to crash with his irresponsible policies. Since I’ve been coming to the PI I’ve seen the exchange rate as low as 42. Anything 50 or above I’m good. Now, obviously, I can cut way back on my frivolous spending habits (no lady drinks would cut my bar tab in half) but hopefully, it will never come to that.

So, there you have a snapshot of what it costs me to live here. YMMV. Of course, everything is relative. The beer that cost me six bucks a bottle in Korea is less than $1.50 here in most bars. I’m living a lot better here on a pension than I could there. But damn, sometimes I do miss those Korean sweeties.

I’ll say it anyway though.

Tuesdays are my “nothing” day, but there are still hours to fill. Immigration granted me another 60 days in paradise, so there is that. Royal sold me another $200. worth of groceries. Every week the prices of imports continue to rise. I’m blessed that I can still afford to buy the things I want. So far.

Julie came along with me as she needed to pick up some stuff for her new place. She was surprised to see my overflowing shopping cart. “All that for one week?” Yep. She told me I was living large. Well, isn’t that the point?

Speaking of Julie, she started a new job last week as a recruiter for IT specialists. Her clients are in the USA so her working hours are 7 p.m. to 4 a.m. She messaged me last night a little before nine and asked me who my internet provider was. She was having issues with Converge (as were many others based on the FB outrage) and wanted to know if she could work from my place. I told her sure. She came over, we got her set up, and I went to bed. Woke up this morning and she was sound asleep on my couch. Looking damn sexy too! Of course, being the gentleman that I am, I didn’t disturb her. Later I cooked her breakfast and then sent her on home. I had the Wednesday Walkers to attend to.

I played darts last night even though I wasn’t in the mood. No real surprise that I threw like shit, although despite my incompetence I somehow managed a third-place finish. Go figure. Hope I throw better in league this afternoon.

After darts, I had a beer a BarCelona. The girl I kinda like there, Samantha, was giving me the cold shoulder. Maybe she had another customer. I didn’t stick around to find out. Went downstairs to Sit-n-Bull and got a roast beef dip to go. Had just finished eating when I found out I was soon to have company.

Speaking of company, I am having my first date with Grace tomorrow. She’s the teacher I’ve been chatting with these past few days. As I’ve mentioned in other posts, she can hold her own in intellectually stimulating conversations. Now, we do share many libertarian viewpoints but I’m not all-in with some of the conspiracy theories she espouses. Not saying she’s wrong, I’m just not ready to go there. For example, last night she sent me this:

I’m sharing with you the reply of my American cousin who used to work at biotech:

Oh my cuz that is very concerning. What the studies are revealing is that the shots were designed with snake venom and not a bat. That everyone who has taken the mRNA is now considered a tanshumanoid with reptilian blood. This is not a joke. That their body is producing reptilian peptides in their blood and that is why their immune system is compromised. Ugh this make me wish I just screamed bloody murder from the roof tops. No one wants to listen though and this is a very sad I told you so.

Like I say, it seems more than a little over the top, but it does make for some lively chats. It will be interesting to see how I feel after we meet in person. She’s older (50) and not the physical type I’m normally attracted to. I think perhaps I’ll be confronted with the true nature of my character–do I want someone I can talk and share with or am I only interested in the conquest of yet another smokin’ hot body of a twenty-something. Place your bets and stay tuned for the answer.

And that’s about it from these parts today. I’ve got the dart league to attend to, then after darts, I promised Joy I would stop in and buy her a lady drink or two.

Nothing much has changed.

Life’s a rollercoaster ride sometimes. Lots of ups and downs and usually a thrill or two along the way. And sometimes a day in the life can feel like that too.

Nothing as nice to see as those, but here is the Relive anyway.

A trike delivered a little Joy to my place in the afternoon. I’m trying real hard to be accepting of the reality that is my life. I did away with the old FWB program because it felt exploitive and wrong somehow. But a couple of the former participants continue to contact me, desperate for the opportunity to earn some cash. So, it puts me in the position of either denying them outright, letting them come over, or just giving them the cash as a matter of charity. None of those options are especially satisfying–it seems I can either be a prick, a dick, or a sucker. Or a combination of all three. I guess there are worse problems to have.

We said our goodbyes after eating and I moseyed over to It Doesn’t Matter to ponder the circumstances that led to a melancholy outcome. My regulars weren’t around, so I drank alone. I’m okay with that. I didn’t find any answers at the bottom of my beer bottle, so I ordered up another one. That didn’t work either, but I’m no quitter, so I kept trying. Eventually, I realized that the mystery would remain unsolved so I paid my tab and left.

The next stop was BarCelona. My Facebook friend Samantha had advised that she was once again at work. I figured I would welcome her back with a lady drink or two and see if there was any comfort to be found in her company. There was not. I feel sorry for her actually. A young widow who seems lost and showing symptoms of depression (she told me sometimes she just wants to stay in her room and cry all day). Well, I’m probably not going to be able to help her with that. It’s sad though.

Then the school teacher I’ve been exchanging messages with for the past month or so asked if we could meet up that night. This was surprising because I had not seen her in person since the night we were introduced. I was in no condition to do so last night. But what pissed me off was her caveat “will you see me or are you going to reject me again?” WTF? We had been chatting in the morning and in the early afternoon. Maybe if she had indicated then she was interested in joining me, I would have been receptive. Or maybe not. But damn, I don’t like ultimatums and that is what this felt like. So, I chose to “reject” her and I’m probably going to eject her from my life. She’s demonstrated that she is not a good fit for me. My bad mood was now foul. I said goodnight to Sam and headed out.

Where to next? I wasn’t in the mood for any of my regular haunts nor did I desire the company of a bargirl. Given those limited options I decided to visit Outback. It was more crowded than on my previous visits, but I spied an open seat on the far side of the bar. Except it wasn’t open, the floor in front of the chair had shoes and purses belonging to the bargirls. My bartender friend said something I didn’t quite hear but she also didn’t seem interested in having the space cleared. So, I said again “I can’t sit here” and she responded, “just take it home with you”. Alright then, I took that as a pretty clear indicator that my business wasn’t needed or wanted. So, I turned around, said goodbye, and walked out.

Granted, I might have handled the situation differently if I wasn’t already disgruntled. What I had hoped would be a safe space proved to be the opposite. At least I maintained my cool–didn’t shout, didn’t cuss, just left. I sent the bartender a message later though expressing my disappointment and reminding her that when I was the only customer during my last visit I had bought everyone a drink so they’d have at least some commission. She responded with an apology and that what she had said was meant to be a joke. I guess I just didn’t have a sense of humor. Anyway, I have no intention of going back. And in case you are wondering, yes, this is the bartender whose surgery I paid for a few months back. You’re welcome!

I finished out my night at Queen Victoria. Still didn’t want bargirl company, so I pretty much ignored my two regulars there. A Hasher came in a bit after I arrived and we had a nice chat at least. Once I had satiated my thirst I caught a trike home. Wasn’t even nine when I gave up the ghost and hit the sack.

But it is not all bad. Earlier that day I had been introduced online through a mutual friend to another schoolteacher working in Olongapo (a different school, thankfully). We hadn’t had a chance to get beyond the introductions, but we were connected through Facebook. I woke up early this morning (3 a.m.) and sent her a good morning message. She responded immediately. And then we engaged in one of the best chats ever. Both on messenger and in a video call. I was very impressed with her intelligence and ability to articulate some pretty profound viewpoints. One example: she asked me which vaxx I had received. I told her I wasn’t vaccinated. She let out a whoop and said neither had she! Got to say, that’s a pretty brave stance for a school teacher here in the Philippines to take. She and some other like-minded teachers have lawyered up and are fighting for their freedom. Anyway, suffice to say her stance on the whole scamdemic pretty much parallels mine. I like that. Oh, and she told me she likes Trump. What a gal, huh?

Anyway, she’s older (mid to late 40s with three kids in their early 20s), a college-educated professional, has a good sense of humor, speaks good English, and is a great conversationalist. Just the type some of you commenters said I should be looking for! Too soon to know if she is a potential soul mate, but damn, we are definitely kindred spirits. Looking forward to meeting her in person one day soon and seeing if there is a spark. At the very least though I feel like I’ve made a great new friend. Oh, her name is Grace.

It’s interesting how things go sometimes. Double-checking to make sure this post title was unique, I came across something I had written on New Year’s Day in 2012 called “Into the Great Wide Open”. In that post, I asked the question: If by some magic you could be shown your future life, would you want to view it? I had to smile at my musings from ten years ago and think of them in terms of my current life:

And today I wondered what would the me of back then have thought upon seeing the me of today mailing a letter of such importance and yet its contents were beyond my wildest imaginings just a few short years ago.   I hope I would have laughed at the absurdity of it all.

Despite all the hopes and dreams and best-laid plans, we are after all destined to live in the moment.  I never envisioned this life that I’ve lived turning out as it did.  The detours and heartbreaks and disappointments all inevitably led me back to this place, but changed me almost completely from who that man looking down from the window way back then.  And I don’t just mean those extra pounds around my belly.  All those experiences that I never planned for, dreamed about, or even knew that I desired have not necessarily made me better, and I certainly hope not worse.  But this is who I have become, and I am glad for it.

It’s funny. Everything has changed since then (the letter was for Jee Yeun’s fiancee visa). Still, I could pose the same question to that me in 2012. This life I’m living was unimaginable back then. And yet, it may be the best life ever. It’s definitely the best life I have.

An interesting turn of events that may or may not prove to be significant. It actually began Monday evening when I was still at the Hash. I checked my Facebook and had a friend request from one of the Wednesday/Friday group hikers I’m acquainted with. I mentally shrugged, added her as a friend, and didn’t think anything more about it. Then I got this message:

Hi John. It’s Susan. Wife of Sam. Your hiking buddy. I have a friend here right now. I want you to meet her. She’s very pretty.

She will go hiking with us sometimes. She will be here on friday thru Sunday. I told her that you’re a nice and giving person. She like that. She wants to meet you and hang out with you.

Well, sounds good so far, right? The thing is, it turns out she wanted to meet up that night. By the time I found that out I was already home after a sweaty Hash hike and more than my share of beers. Susan sent me this photo of her friend to try and further entice me:

But as I said, I was in no condition to meet up that night. I did get her Facebook name and sent her a friend request. She accepted and told me she was playing pool at BarCelona while waiting for me. I broke the news that I wouldn’t be making it that night. She said we could meet the next day then. I asked her where she was staying and she told me she didn’t have a place yet. I suggested a couple of inexpensive nearby motels, wished her a good night and went to bed.

For some inexplicable reason, I woke up at 3:00 a.m. and couldn’t go back to sleep. So, I fired up the laptop and noticed the new girl was online. I shrugged it off and went about my business, then I got a message from her. I asked her where she was and she told me she was waiting for a Jeepney to Olongapo. WTF? “You didn’t get a room?” She said no, she had stayed at BarCelona until they closed. I asked what are you going to do in Olongapo at three in the morning? She didn’t know, she would just wait for me.

Okay, this was a little crazy, but I didn’t know what else to do but invite her over. At least she’d be safe here. She told me her phone battery was almost empty. I sent directions to my house and waited for her to arrive. And waited. Finally, I hear the sound of a trike approaching on the road behind my house. And then when it got to the new construction, it stopped and turned around. I figured it was her, so I shouted “where are you going?” The trike stopped again, someone got out, and the trike left. I went out front and a few minutes later a pretty young woman walked up and introduced herself “I’m Lane.” Nice to finally meet you!

As you might imagine, she was quite exhausted. I gave her a pillow and she snoozed on the couch for a while.

Tuesday is my grocery shopping day, so Lane couldn’t sleep long. I made her a nice breakfast and she come along for the trip to Royal. She seemed to get along well with my helper and my driver, that’s always nice to see. I asked if there was anything she needed at the store and she said no.

When we got back home, we were both ready for more sleep. Me being me, I tried to entice her into lovemaking, but she gently rebuffed my advances. So, we cuddled up and slept in each other’s arms. I like that too. I got up after an hour or so, she slept for three. When she woke up, I took her out to Mango’s for a late lunch/early dinner.

After our meal, I put her in a Jeepney and she headed into Olongapo to catch the bus back home to Angeles City. She wants to come back and join me for a Hash one day soon. We shall see what the future brings.

Yeah, I accepted her offer for a date.

Fifteen minutes later the big head was saying “told ya so!”. She seems like a sweet girl though and I was happy to help her out.

Walked her out of the neighborhood, then headed to Sit-n-Bull for an early supper. Had a nice chat with owner Ron then enjoyed a roast beef dinner. It looked (and tasted) so good I was almost done before I remembered I hadn’t taken a photograph. Just have to take my word for it this time.

After my meal, I went around the corner and up the stairs to BarCelona. They must have a lot of turnover because I didn’t see any of my favorite waitresses working. So, I just enjoyed my beer and the view.

Paid my tab after a couple of brews, then moved up the highway to It Doesn’t Matter for some more. A Hash buddy, Max (Nosey Bastard), came in and we had a nice chat. A bit later, the nighttime crew of waitresses arrived, including my pals Roan and Agnes. It’s hard to be lonely in this town!

Meanwhile, my friend Joy from the Hideaway bar was messaging that she didn’t have any customers and would I please come spend some money on her. Well, it was still early so I made the longish walk to help out a gal in need. A couple of more beers there and I called it a night.

So, I got an email from my landlord. The septic system and water drains have to be moved because the wastewater is intruding on the lot behind me where the house is being constructed. I can’t imagine why a bit of sewage would be a problem, but the new neighbors insist it be stopped. What that means for me is construction work in my backyard for the next 30 days or so. Oh well, maybe it will drown out the noise from the construction behind me. More concerning is there will be three days during the work where my toilets will be incapacitated as the switch is made to the new septic tank. Oh well, that’s what hotels are for, right?

And this is Hash Monday so another hike is in store. I did part of the trail on Friday’s walk, so I guess I won’t be too surprised. And I’m not shy about going my own way should I deem the work of the Hares not to be in my best interest.

Speaking of the Hash, Holy week is coming soon. That’s a really big deal in this predominately Catholic country. Our Hash tradition is to climb Easter mountain on the Monday following Easter. The photo I posted yesterday made the mountain look less challenging than it is in reality. I blame the camera! I did find a photo from the first (and only time) I made that climb. This one is looking directly down at where I was standing when I took this shot:

Stay tuned for some Hash photos tomorrow.

Other than grocery shopping, Tuesday is pretty much my lazy day. I take a break from walking and then usually just hang out until it’s time for darts. Yesterday wasn’t much of an exception, but I’ll fill you in any way.

On the way to the grocery store, we stopped by Baypointe hospital to pick up the results of my PSA blood test. I came in at 1.14 and the normal range goes up to 4.5, so it looks like it won’t be prostate cancer that kills me. In other health-related news, the meds I’m taking for my nasal polyps are having some positive impact. Still congested, but at least now I can breathe some air in and out of my nose again. A few days of pills to go, so hopefully, I can avoid getting surgery to remove the polyps.

I also had the mountain girl I’ve been helping to support give me a massage yesterday. It was her idea (she needed extra money for her daughter’s medicine). I ended the “friends with benefits” program because I felt like I was being exploitive of desperate women in need. I still hear occasionally from some of the past beneficiaries and they remain desperate. Now I feel guilty because I’ve closed the door on an avenue they had found to make life a little easier. Then I came across this article “why sugar babies do not deserve the negative stigma”. Hmm. The description of the relationships between a sugar daddy and the women he supports sounded eerily similar to my FWB offering. Two consenting adults assisting one another with their needs, why is that a bad thing? I don’t know if I’ll reconsider that program or not. I’m still kind of in an “I’d like to find a girlfriend” mode, but I am readapting to being single, and given my history, that might be the wisest choice. Being alone doesn’t mean you have to be lonely. Especially in this town! We’ll see.

A good night of darts last night. It was like old times in Alley Cats with the bar full of drunk Swedes. Yep, the part-timers and tourists seem to be back in force. Even had enough players to have a doubles tournament.

After darts, I crossed the highway and went to Mangos for dinner. I was the only customer.

After eating, I decided to drop in and say hello at Outback. It’s been a while since I visited that bar. Once again, I was surprised to see that I was the only customer. My friend the bartender and five waitresses with no one to serve. Maybe the tourist invasion has not hit in full force after all, although Bhel (the bartender) said they usually get a later crowd. Anyway, I wound up doing something I rarely do–buying everyone a drink. The gesture seemed appreciated. It set me back a little over1000 pesos ($20) but I reckon I can afford it. My beers alone would have cost me that much in Korea.

This morning I copied and scanned the documents for my income tax prep and emailed them to my accountant back in the states. Then I led the Wednesday Walkers group halfway through a hike. I left them on their own so they could tackle another climb, I needed to get back home to write this post and then head out to darts.

And now that I have, that’s what I’ll do. See you tomorrow!

…on another meaningless weekend. Hell, when you are retired even the word “weekend” is meaningless. Here’s are some scenes from my Sunday:

I got bored sitting around the house waiting for beer o’clock to roll around. At 3:00 p.m. I finally convinced myself that since it was Sunday it was perfectly acceptable to start a little early. How could I argue with logic like that? My original intent had been to start at the nearest bar to my house (not owned by my ex) and go from there. So, that would make Queen Victoria my first stop. But as I neared that venue I listened to the other voice in my head saying it was still too early and kept on walking. I figured the extra steps wouldn’t hurt anyway (I wound up with 18,000 for the day).

On the other side of town I reached John’s place and decided, what the hell, it’s a restaurant after all. More sound logic from a thirsty soul. Of course, I proceeded directly to the third-floor bar and plopped down on my usual seat overlooking the highway below. There was a pool league match taking place and I was surprised to see one of the female Hashers I know playing. It was nice to see a familiar face. The beer was cold and wet and I took in the view as I drank.

I found a break in the traffic and scurried across the highway, then made my way to Cheap Charlies.

After a couple of more beers, I decided to head on down the highway. There is a new bar called Sloppy Joe’s I wanted to check out. It’s tiny but has a nice outdoor seating area. Alas, the outside space was insufficient for me to comfortably join the other patrons already ensconced there. Another time, perhaps. I wound up ending my evening at the bar where I intended to begin–Queen Victoria.

The birthday girl I had met last Wednesday during dart league was there and seemed happy to see me. She goes by “Tin-Tin” in the bar, and without the distraction of darts, I got to know her a little better. Of course, I told her upfront that 21 was way too young for me. That didn’t seem to deter her at all. She was quite the touchy-feely type, which is fine, but I prefer it somewhere other than in public. After two beers, it was just past nine, which as you probably know, is my quitting time. As I was paying my tab, Tin-Tin came up with keys in hand offering me a ride home. Hmm. Well, I know she rides a scooter and I could tell she had been drinking, and I also suspected what she might have in mind at my place, so I thanked her and declined. I may be a fool but I ain’t stupid. Or at least I wasn’t this time.

And that was my Sunday evening entertainment. This is Hash Monday, so I have mostly been lazing around and surfing the ‘net all morning. Well, I did get an email from Google saying I was nearing maximum storage capacity and giving me the option to buy more space or delete some old emails and photos. I took the delete option, but I did look at some things to make sure I really didn’t want them. Glad I did because I found some pics from my first ever trip to the Philippines back in July 2008.

It was the day of the pool party I held with the bar girls I had met from Alaska Club in Angeles City. Hmm, looking up that link I see that most of the photos I “rescued” this morning I have posted on the blog. That post was written in 2017. What’s odd is that I didn’t do a blog post at the time of the visit in 2008. I’m guessing I was either still technically married to wife #3 or didn’t want my employer to know I was cavorting with prostitutes. Or both! Anyway, you can see the photos and the story of what led to the pool party at the link above. Here are some teasers:

You know, sometimes I wish I could go back in time. Even if I couldn’t change a thing. I’d just like to re-experience memories like these from the perspective of knowing I didn’t appreciate it as much as I should have at the time. I’m actually trying to do that in the present as well. When I start feeling down or disappointed, I remind myself that someday I’ll look back and this time of my life will seem wonderful. Enjoy it while you can!

Well, I’ve survived so far but I still have Sunday night to go. Here’s how it has been so far.

Decided to start my Saturday on the town with some food in my belly, so Sit-n-Bull was my first stop.

I was disappointed my waitress friend and potential future date, Samantha, wasn’t there. I sent her a message and she confirmed she was taking the night off. Alrighty then, saved me the cost of the lady drinks she would have consumed.

A couple of beers later I’d seen enough so I moseyed down the street a ways. Where was I headed?

A bunch of Hashers came in and occupied that table a bit later, but I maintained my counter seat where I shared company and drinks with Roan and Agnes. Always a good time with Roan, lots of laughs. Wish I could get her interested in something more than being a bar friend, but she’s been honest and upfront about her lack of desire for anything else. No complaints about that.

It was getting close to 9:00 and that’s when I generally shut things down, but I decided to up my game and have one for the road at Cheap Charlies. The place was really busy and that’s good to see. Well, all my favorites were otherwise occupied. Still, I didn’t have to drink alone.

When I got out of the trike at home I saw this unusual sight:

So, I pushed the envelope last night and wound up going to bed at the ungodly hour of 10:30! Wowza! Slept in until 5:00 this morning though, so all is well.

I did my solitary Sunday stroll this morning. Decided to do one of those “photo every 1000 steps” so I could get some practice with the camera. Here’s how that worked out:

You can always Relive the stroll if you have the gumption:

I made a discovery as I sat down to do today’s post. I always check to make sure I have a unique title. In doing so I came across something I had written back in November 2007 called the Korean cookie lady. I had totally forgotten about the events described in that post. So, maybe my blog isn’t totally worthless after all. It is a repository of memories from a life slowly fading away with the passage of time.

No idea what is in store for tonight. I was hoping for a first date with the teacher, but we are having a difficult time getting on the same page. So, it looks like another evening of beer and loneliness. Not that I’m complaining!

I led the group hike yesterday and we did about 7K up and over Black Rock, then roundabout back to Barretto. I was excited about doing the Black Rock hike because it has just about the best views from up top in the area and I wanted to give my new phone camera a tryout. The hike was great and the views were awesome on a sunny clear day. I took a shitload of photos but I won’t be posting any of them here. Here’s the convoluted story of why:

I mentioned that I bought a new phone. It’s a Samsung Galaxy A53. My old phone is an A50. I’d gone online to research which Samsung phone features the best camera. Of course, the best cameras are on the S-series phones, but they cost a thousand bucks. The review I read said the A52 had the best camera in the mid-price range. I went to the Samsung store at the mall and the salesman showed me an A52, but then pointed out that the A53 was this year’s upgrade of that model and it was on sale. Sold!

After the purchase, they helped me do the transfer of all my data, photos, and apps to the new phone. That went smoothly. Of course, the real pain in the ass was opening up my apps and programs on the new phone. Everything required a password and in a lot of cases it had been years and I couldn’t remember what some of those passwords might be. Well, the fix for that is the app will email me a code to insert in lieu of a password. I remembered my Google password, but not the one for my AOL account, so that upped the level of being a pain in the ass. But I eventually got everything functioning again on the new phone and I was good to go.

So, I did the hike, took my photos, came home. I’m going to donate my old phone to someone in need here, but first I had to delete all the data, apps, and photos there. Someone had shown me how to do the factory reset, and I set about doing it. The hitch came because Samsung required that I log in to my Samsung account before I could implement the delete function. Well, I didn’t even know that I had a Samsung account and none of the usual old passwords I tried were working. And when I tried the email recovery option, the emails from Samsung were in Hanguel–making them virtually unreadable to an ignoramus like me. So, I’m going back between my new and old phones–trying to respond to the emails on the one, and trying to implement the delete function on the other. And then somehow I finally got the delete function to work! And almost instantly noticed that I had mixed up the phones, both being the same size and feel, and had started the delete process on my new phone. And there was no way to stop it. Yeah, I’m that stupid. Probably karma for my mocking our demented President.

I was able to re-initiate the data transfer process from the old phone to the new one, just like I had done the day before. But alas, all those photos I had taken on the new phone were lost forever. This morning I successfully completed the deletion of data from the old phone and hopefully, that marks the end of the transition trauma.

You’ll have to Relive the hike without photos.

Going through all that crap with my phone put me behind schedule, so I didn’t bother with darts last evening. Instead, I went to It Doesn’t Matter and had a few cold ones to help me forget about my recent ordeal with the phone. My friend “Jenny” is heading down to Manila for her new job and I had promised her dinner before she departs. We agreed to meet at John Kim’s new place, so I moved my ass up the highway, climbed to the third floor, and waited for her there.

And here it is, the first picture from my new phone camera to be shared here at LTG:

Jenny and I had a nice meal (can’t remember what she ate now, I had fish and chips), shared some banter (she gets my sense of humor!), and had a pleasant evening together. I drank beer, she had soju. I was crushing on her when we first met, but she has convinced me to back off, at least for now. I’m back in my living for the moment mode, so I’m comfortable saying we have no future. Still, nothing wrong with sharing some platonic time and a few laughs when circumstances allow.

Jenny and I left John’s place together and went home and went to bed. Well, she went to her home and I went to mine, but you know what I mean.

Up this morning and took care of the usual business. I did a street hike through Barretto and listened to music on my headphones. Not much worthy of a photograph anyway. Well, I did take a leaving the neighborhood shot:

I had ordered some stuff on Lazada (the Philippines version of Amazon) and for some reason had the foresight to leave some money with the helper “just in case”. And sure enough, when I got back from my hike, two of the items had arrived:

Best of all, I was able to set it up, sync it to my phone, and get it fully functioning without incident. Hey, let’s see Joe Biden do that!

And that’s pretty much all there is to say for now. Let me leave you with these important facts of life I came across on the internet (so you know they must be true!)

Until tomorrow then. Assuming tomorrow comes.

Sorry for the lack of posting yesterday. My good intentions were overridden by laziness unforeseen events. Anyway, here’s what’s been happening.

Started my Wednesday in the usual fashion, including a pleasant hike with the Wednesday Walkers group. Photos from that event later in this post. Home in time for a shower and a quick post here, but no nap. Then it was off to the dart league match being played at Queen Victoria.

The lady in red told me her name is Cristina and that it was her twenty-first birthday. I asked one of the other waitresses if they were going to have a celebration later for her. Nope, nothing was planned, she responded. So, that didn’t seem right to me. After all, you are only 21 once. I sent one gal off to pick up a birthday cake and had another order a pizza. They partied while I played darts.

We wound up winning the dart match 9-4, although we should have done much better than that. Too many distractions–that’s my excuse! After darts I did a bit of a bar crawl, seeing Samantha at BarCelona and sharing a couple of drinks with her. I don’t expect that is going anywhere either. Popped into It Doesn’t Matter for a bit, then finished my night at Cheap Charlies. It was a long day for this old man.

And then it was Thursday. I didn’t do a hike. I took the morning off to prepare for my appointment with an Ear, Nose, and Throat specialist. The plan was for my helper to get there an hour before the doctor’s scheduled arrival at 2:00. She’d get me all signed up thereby reducing my wait time by having me near the front of the queue. Since my driver was picking us up at 12:30, I figured I’d spend some time at the mall. Why the mall? Well, my friend Joy needed a new phone and I was the sucker nice guy expected to provide it. Okay, I don’t mind helping a gal in need and I agreed, so no big deal. To her credit, she was happy with the cheapest decent phone available, about $150. And since we were there anyway, I did some shopping too.

The shopping excursion took a little longer than planned and we had to rush back to Baypointe hospital so I didn’t miss my place in line to see the doctor. I wound up waiting about 30 minutes anyway. I scheduled the visit with ENT doc because I’ve had head congestion for the past three or four months and over-the-counter meds were having little to no effect. The first thing I noticed when I walked into the doctor’s office was that she was pretty damn hot. I like that in a physician! Makes the exam much less stressful. The first thing she asked me was “what brings you here today?” I responded, “I came in a car.” Yeah, I know. She laughed politely though, and then we got down to business. I described my symptoms and she had me move to an examination chair. She put on her face shield, grabbed a tube-like instrument, and stuck it up my nose. I guess it was some kind of microscope. Then she did the other nostril. She did a tsk, tsk, and said that’s the problem–Grade II nasal polyps. Now what, doc? She explained that once you reach the Grade II level, surgery may be required. In my case, since I have to take meds for high blood pressure and an enlarged prostate, she couldn’t give me the stronger drugs she would normally prescribe (steroid-like if I understood correctly). So, we are trying a two-week regimine of lower dose meds and if that doesn’t work I’ll need to schedule surgery. Out patient? No, it requires general anesthesia. Damn it! Lets hope the meds work. As pretty as she is, I don’t want her poking around in my nose with a scapel.

After the doctor’s visit, I took my driver, helper, and Joy out to lunch at the nearby Seoul restaurant.

By the time we got back to Barretto it was already beer o’clock. Had my driver drop Joy off at her house and had him take me out to Baloy Beach. I started and ended my evening at McCoy’s.

And so ended another day in paradise. I had some more adventures today, but I’ll share those tomorrow. I need to head out for darts now.

Here’s the pics I promised from the Wednesday hike:

…another door opens. Or so it has been said. I’d like to see the scientific data supporting that proposition though.

Anyway, on the way to do my grocery shopping yesterday, I had my driver drop my weekend guest off at the bus station so she could return to her life in Angeles City. She has subsequently been messaging things like she misses me and wants to come see me again. I haven’t been brutal in my responses, but I think I’ve made it clear those feelings are not mutual. Again, I think she is a good-hearted woman, just someone who is completely wrong for me. I made her cry her last night here with my bluntness, I wasn’t even angry, okay, maybe a tad rude and impatient, but nothing like my worst behavior. Anyway, trying to have a relationship with her would be a disaster for us both. Not sure what lessons I can take away from the experience, maybe something to do with selectivity.

I did share my insights on caring about someone who doesn’t care for you with “Jenny”. I told her I understood better how she must have felt with me trying to worm my way into her heart when she had no reciprocal feelings for me. She told me she was sorry I felt that way and that I misunderstood her. She said she thinks I’m a nice and caring man with a good sense of humor and that she enjoys my company. She just does not want to be in a relationship with a “white man” right now. Yeah, that’s how she put it. She explained that she has some personal goals she is working hard to achieve and it is important to her that she achieve them on her own. Having a white boyfriend would diminish whatever she accomplishes because people would assume I made it happen for her through financial support (all us foreigners are considered rich in the eyes of the Filipino community apparently). Whatever her reasons, I’m not gonna chase or beg for her time and attention. Maybe I’ll be here when she’s ready for a relationship, maybe I won’t.

I was surprised to hear from another former love of mine yesterday. Her engagement to a foreigner has ended (she didn’t say why, and I didn’t ask) and she inquired about me providing a work reference. I did and it appears she will indeed be hired. Happy about that. And yes, the thought did cross my mind about trying to rekindle that old flame. I’ve regretted maybe giving up too soon during our first go-round and with the benefit of hindsight and getting to know her better during our ensuing years of friendship, perhaps we could make a go of it this time. Way, way too soon for me to even consider acting on that possibility. I need to stand back and give her some space and time to make the transition back to singleness. I can think about it though and let my imagination run wild.

Played darts last night and got knocked out early. First time in a long time we’ve had enough players for a doubles tournament. I’m not going to blame my partner for our poor performance though. Wait a minute, yes I am! Not that I cared. The blessing of an early defeat was that I had more time to do a bar crawl. I started at BarCelona and visited my new favorite waitress there, Samantha. Her only off-day is Wednesday and since my Wednesdays are whacked with hiking and dart league, I’m not sure what we are going to do to get to know one another better. We talked about doing a hike and perhaps we will next week. She works too late (midnight or later) to get together after quitting time. Maybe a lunch date prior to work would be possible. We’ll see.

After BarCelona, I dropped by The Green Room, hoping to see my friend Novi. She wasn’t around (I found out later she quit) so it was one beer and out for me.

Next stop was Alaska. I greeted the owner, Jerry, then took a seat. Three gals up on stage and not much else happening. Music is always good with Jerry as DJ though, so there was that. Still, no one I knew to talk to, so a couple of beers and I said my goodnight.

It was nearly my bedtime (9 p.m.) but I decided to have one more for the road so I headed down to Queen Victoria.

Queen Vic had a live band and they sounded surprisingly good. Also, some pretty hot waitresses who looked very thirsty, but I just wasn’t in the mood to engage. A couple of more beers and I called it a night.

Just before I went to bed, I got a message from the schoolteacher. I hadn’t heard from her in several days. As you may recall she got pissed because I didn’t respond to her messages fast enough. Anyway, I was too tired and drunk to deal with her last night. I’ll keep her in the queue notwithstanding some red flags she’s displayed.

That was my Tuesday. Did a nice hike this morning, and now it is time for dart league. I’m really tired, but I’ve got no choice, my teammates are relying on me. I’ve already announced that I’m not playing next season.

Finally, Facebook reminded me that today is the third anniversary of me acquiring my dog Lucky. Here’s how he looked when I brought him home that day:

It’s all good.

It’s Hash Monday, so just a quick update before I hid out to hit the trail.

Day 2 of my entertaining an out-of-town guest. Nothing has changed, although I do think my post yesterday may have sounded harsher than I intended. She seems to be a kind and good-hearted woman, just not the one for me. My epiphany I suppose was coming to understand that “Jenny” probably feels about me the way I feel about my guest. Doesn’t matter how good the other person may be, if they aren’t connecting with you on an emotional level it ain’t gonna happen. That’s just the way it goes sometimes.

Anyway, my guest didn’t want to join me for my Sunday hike because it was “too hot”. Well, I’m used to walking alone, but here is some of what she missed:

You can Relive it here if you have a hankering to do so.

Once back home, I had some time to kill before beer o’clock rolled around, so opened up my Netflix. She picked a movie called “Black Crab”. I guess it was okay and somewhat entertaining. Not sure I’ve watched a Swedish-made film before. Anyway, it killed a couple of hours so it served its purpose. Here’s the trailer if you want a taste:

So, it was finally time to head out and I decided we’d walk to John’s place for food and beers.

Wound up staying at John’s until it was time to head back home for my 9 p.m. bedtime.

Up early this morning as usual. My guest did join me for the dog walk.

Came home and put together the ingredients for some chili in the crockpot.

And there’s a snapshot of my life here in the Philippines. Don’t be too jealous! Facebook sent me a reminder of how life was four years ago in Pyeongtaek.

I really am making progress. This weekend was a good reminder to not settle for less than what I want. I’ll be just fine alone if that is what it comes down to.

Not a single trigger was tripped by my out-of-town visitor. Unless getting frustrated and irritated counts. She really doesn’t look anything like her pictures either, not that looks are the most important feature. Communication is a crapshoot as well. She doesn’t get my humor and I can’t understand what she is saying half the time. Even the sex was disappointing. Now, I have two days to fill with my new “friend” before she returns home. Wish me luck!

In a rather bizarre turn of events, the schoolteacher I’ve been chatting with got pissed because I didn’t promptly respond to her messages last night. I had told her I was going to be busy this weekend, but I guess I’m supposed to be at her beck and call 24/7. Glad she showed me this side of who she is before I wasted more time.

Looks like I’m on a roll. There’s a word we say here in the Philippines when you encounter this kind of situation. “Next!”

It’s been as hot as I can remember these past few days. I came across a picture that illustrates why:

Anyway, wish me luck getting through the next couple of days. Another example of “there are worse things than being alone.”