A few days ago, Kevin Kim wrote a post called “The Basic Human Sin.” If you missed it, go ahead and give it a read. I’ll wait. So, I’ve often mentioned my fantasy about living a “do-over” life when the one I’m currently living comes to an end. Kevin, bless his heart, has always pointed out in the comments how unrealistic and unworkable a do-over life would be. Basically, once you correct one fuck-up, your future life would be unrecognizable, so you’d no longer be doing a do-over; you’d have a blank sheet for new mistakes. Kevin also pointed out the inherent selfishness of the do-over scheme— trying to fix your life would inevitably change the lives of innocent bystanders, and not always for the better. In my defense, the do-over fantasy was just my way of calming my brain at night to help me get to sleep. Knowing that it would not work the way I imagine takes away a goodly portion of the comfort I seek.

So, I woke up around 3 a.m. this morning and was having trouble getting back to sleep. For whatever reason, I started thinking about traveling back in time and reliving my life from that point forward, knowing what I know now. I don’t have a time machine, of course, but I imagined a psychic power capable of transporting you by viewing an old photograph of a moment in time. Yeah, none of it makes sense, but it was three in the morning, and I couldn’t sleep. I thought of the picture I posted here a few days ago:

So, I started thinking about reliving my life from there. It’s great to be young again with the whole future ahead of you. But then I started to think about the ramifications of changing things that Kevin warned me about. My son was born two years later, and we moved to Prescott, Arizona. It was there that my spouse told me she no longer wanted to be a wife and mother, and left me to raise two kids (aged five and three) on my own. Could I have done more to save the marriage and the life we had shared? If I had, she would have missed out on the love of her life, with whom she’s been married for over forty years. I could have avoided the heartbreak that came with losing my next love, but, as I wrote in a post about her, “The Road Not Taken,” everything that flowed from meeting KaraLynne would never have happened. And almost all of that was good. Like meeting my soulmate and angel on earth, Linda Ketner. Needless to say, sleep eluded me, but it turns out Kevin was right about what he wrote. I’m glad I lived it and didn’t miss it, pain and all.

Okay, back to the real world. After grocery shopping yesterday, I visited Dr. Jo for my first Ozempic injection. She is starting me out on a low dosage for the first four weeks, which will give my body the chance to acclimate to the drug. Dr. Jo says the incidents of bad side effects like stomach paralysis usually occur when people begin the regimen at too high a dose level. Nothing negative to report so far, and as this article makes clear, healthy habits and lifestyle choices remain important when using Ozempic. My weekly injection cost me 3400 pesos (around $60). The price will go up as the dosages increase. I don’t intend to be a long-term user, I just need a kick in the butt to drop some pounds ASAP.

I practiced darts at home in the afternoon and threw surprisingly well, so I was feeling confident as we headed out to Alley Hideout for the Tuesday dart tournament. Warming up at the bar, my throws were shit again. I drew Troy, an experienced and solid player, as my partner. We both joked that we’d be the first eliminated from the tournament. We weren’t. A crap first round knocked us into the losers’ bracket, where we won our next match. But it was back to missing in our next games, so we didn’t make it to the money round. If I decide to continue playing, I’m going to need to work on more consistency.

I did bring a new shirt home from the bar:

I was whupped after my whuppin’ in darts, so we headed home for some smoothies and a restless night’s sleep. At least I did some thinking, something I don’t try much lately.

I’m glad not to be living in the USA. If I left the Philippines, I wouldn’t go back there. I’d probably give Vietnam or Cambodia a shot. Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere. I’m as happy here as I would be somewhere else.

A Facebook memory from three years ago serves as a good reminder of why I choose to stick with beer.

From the May 2018 LTG archives, my farewell luncheon ceremony courtesy of the DHRM team and 8th Army. It was a good (second) ending to my career, and the memories will last as long as I do.

For today’s YouTube video, here’s a doctor who is incensed about GLP-1 “madness,” and he is so disgusted that he wants to leave the USA. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. And don’t let the door hit you on the way out.

I’ll be fat and happy for now:

And that’s it for now. Time for me to get back to living the best life ever!

Our paths may never cross again
Maybe my heart will never mend
But I'm glad for all the good times
Cause you've brought me so much sunshine
And love was the best it's ever been

I wouldn't have missed it for the world
Wouldn't have missed loving you, girl
You've made my whole life worthwhile with your smile
I wouldn't trade one memory
'Cause you mean too much to me
Even though I lost you, girl
I wouldn't have missed it for the world