I guess it’s natural to fall into habits and routines that fill the hours, however comfortably and well. Thinking back on my year in Pyeongtaek I was pretty much always in my WWD (working, walking, drinking) mode. And now I’m retired so you can see where that leaves me. I think the thing about working is that it changes things up day-to-day. New issues and problems to be resolved, meaningful interactions and intellectual stimulation. I’ve actually dreamed about work a few times recently so maybe my subconscious is trying to tell me something.
Which is not to say my current routines make me feel unsatisfied and unfulfilled, I think it’s just the same-same of everyday living that tends to create a feeling of boredom that I need to shake free from. Or maybe I just accept the new normal and try to achieve a sense of satisfaction with my life. It’s not so bad and I’m really not unhappy. I’m just comfortably numb.
I’m managing between 15,000 and 20,000 (sometimes more) steps everyday. It may be an overstatement to call walking “my hobby”, it’s just what I do. My motivation is primarily weight control (still under 200 pounds!) and staying healthy enough to eek out a few extra years amongst the living (BP is in the mid 120s and resting HR has been mid 60s, so it seems to be working). Other than the Hash though I don’t have much new to see during my 2+ hours daily road trips. I vary between my Baloy Beach, Barretto, and Subic town walks, but they tend to get old. Some days I’ll try a new side road but honestly I get a little uncomfortable walking through some potentially dicey neighborhoods. I guess it’s just my perception but I do stand out as the only white guy in these areas and encountering unemployed and seemingly desperate young men milling about makes me feel like a potential target sometimes. Nothing has ever happened to support those feelings of course. Yet anyway. Better to be bored than robbed perhaps.
I’m a thousand miles from nowhere and there’s no place I gotta be…
My nighttime activities find me hanging out in one bar or another, sometimes playing darts and others just buying lady drinks interacting with the bargirls. Oh, and like Justice Kavanaugh, I do like me some beer. I confine myself to the low calorie, low alcohol local brew however.
My best friend!
It’s always a little surprising to be reminded of just what a small town Barretto really is. I’m known by name even in places I rarely frequent. It can be a bit disconcerting to walk past the bars and have the doorgirls shout out “come in, Sir John”, especially when I can’t recall having ever been there before. On the other hand, it’s nice to see familiar faces and be greeted by acquaintances on the street or waitresses in the restaurants. I’ve been here less than five months but it already feels like home. And that’s a good thing.
They know me a Mango’s where I enjoyed this fish and chips dinner last night.
While I’ve quit playing in the Wednesday and Friday dart leagues, I still play in tournaments a couple of times a week. I like the freedom this provides me to do other things should I choose to without letting down the team. I’ve been playing pretty well, but I really need to put my home dart board to use by putting in some meaningful practice time. And time is something I have plenty of these days!
A first place finish is always nice!
Sometimes after walking and before drinking I’ll prepare some eats on the grill or in the crockpot. Fills some time and my stomach!
Pulled pork with cornbread is one of my mainstays…
And sometimes I’ll even do some dessert!
Like I say, I’m living an easy and comfortable life here. Nothing to complain about (other than boring ass blog posts like this one!). I’m leaving for the USA on the morning of the 24th (at 0200 to be precise). Will return two weeks later. So at a minimum I’ll have some new material to blog about. I’m formulating a plan to henceforth incorporate at least one out-of-town getaway per month. Sometimes in country, sometimes out. I think that will go a long way to providing a greater sense of fulfillment and satisfaction in my life. Who knows, maybe I’ll even find a girlfriend along the way! Hey, it could happen.
And I still have my sense of humor, such as it is…
Life is good.
There is no pain you are receding
A distant ship smoke on the horizon
You are only coming through in waves
Your lips move but I can’t hear what you’re saying
When I was a child
I caught a fleeting glimpse
Out of the corner of my eye
I turned to look but it was gone
I cannot put my finger on it now
The child is grown
The dream is gone
I have become comfortably numb.
I’m sure you’ll find plenty of new challenges to occupy your time. Something like the Hash, I think, is awesome because it’s about community-building and self-improvement (you can actually run the Hash, right?). That’s precisely the sort of thing you can fill your time with and end up feeling that you’re doing something worthwhile. Things that take brains and effort, things that push you gently to the limits (or over the limits) of your comfort zone—these are all worthy pursuits.
Themed travel is an option, too, in terms of expanding horizons. Go from city to city looking for examples of native (pre-Christian) Filipino religion, and pick up some of that religion’s history along the way. Or do a food tour (that’d be my option) in which you eat your way across part of the country, sampling local specialties and figuring out what makes a particular region’s cuisine unique. Learn food vocabulary, in both English and the local languages, as you go.
Of course, there are also Filipino martial arts, which are pretty badass. Few cultures can rival the Philippines in terms of weapon arts. Learn escrima (2 sticks) or self-defense with a staff or cane. There must be some martial-arts schools near where you live.
Anyway, the entire country is your oyster, so the only reason to feel bored is if you’ve trapped yourself in a boring routine. Perhaps your boredom is the cosmos’s way of saying, “Start getting curious about this new, wide universe you’re living in.” Bars are, after all, filled with the incurious who are content with the confines of the bar itself.
Great comment, Kevin. Lots of wisdom here, perhaps I’ll even avail myself to some of it!
Actually, the theme travel idea is appealing. I’ve always enjoyed history so I can see myself doing that. When I was in Cebu/Mactan Island a couple of years ago I visited the site where Magellan met his end at the hands of Lapu-Lapu. Good stuff.
You also gave me the idea of going back to the dating sites and looking for a local “tour guide” to the places I travel. That could make the traveling much nicer is so MANY ways!