I’ve got to make this a quickie post. Follow-up appointment coming up with Dr. Jo this afternoon. I can at least report that I lost 4.7 pounds since Sunday. My lower legs look less swollen as well. We’ll see what she thinks of my progress.
For my “long” walk yesterday, I decided to hike the Govic Highway (Subic bypass) from one end to the other. I’ve done it in bits and pieces over the years, but never the length of it all at once.
In the evening, I took Swan to dinner at John’s place.
After dinner, I decided we should change things up and visit a bar I used to frequent regularly but hadn’t been to for several months–Whiskey Girl. My, how things have changed. One of my favorites, Kim, was still there but obviously a few months pregnant. My other favorite seemed to be ignoring me, but I called her over since I had a coupon for a free beer with every lady drink. It was hard to get reacquainted because the music was loudly blaring, and it was some crap disco-rap shit. I used to really enjoy the quality mix of songs here, but it has gone in a whole other direction. I finished my beer and told Jenn I won’t be back.
We crossed the highway to make Queen Victoria our nightcap venue. And damn, they were playing the same bullshit music, albeit at a more reasonable volume. I’ve been a semi-regular here for years and know the bartender, so I called him over to ask what was up with the music selection. He said that’s what the dancers want to hear. And I responded, but what about the customers? He just shrugged. He did put a different song on, but a few minutes later, I saw a dancer change it back. Oh well. I might come back for some live music someday, but this is no longer a venue I care to go to to chill out over a beer.
Yep, that grumpy old man last night was me. Play what you want as loud as you want. I’ve got fifty other bars to choose from. The thing is, the clientele in this town is primarily old fuckers like me, and we don’t want to hear that young peoples crap. So, if you don’t want my business, keep playing that shit. Rant over.
Today’s Quora Q&A:
Q: What would you do if you were retired and discover that the Social Security trust fund will be insolvent in 2035?
A: Well, I don’t draw Social Security, but I do have a Federal pension. If for some reason Uncle Sam defaults on the promise of providing my monthly stipend, I’d be pretty much screwed. I don’t see that happening though. My bigger concern is that inflation will make my pension worth much less in terms of buying power. Also, since I live overseas, a weak dollar will impact exchange rates compounding the problem. I have money in savings accounts but that won’t last long if the above scenarios come to pass.
Yep, I’m at the mercy of my Uncle Sam. Let’s hope the American people rise up and prevent the bloodbath that four more years of Biden will surely bring to the economy.
On a lighter note:
All right, off to see Dr. Jo, and from there, I will attend the 1000th SOB dance competition.
Good luck with the Dr. Jo appointment!
The Govic is easier to walk than the National Highway, but there are places without a real shoulder.
Yeah, we’ve got spots like that here in South Korea.
One of my favorites, Kim, was still there but obviously a few months pregnant.
Is she making a smart life-choice or a dumb one?
So, if you don’t want my business, keep playing that shit. Rant over.
I rarely listen to music in the best of times. Blessed silence is more my style. I also don’t understand walkers who shut out the world with headphones. What’s so horrible about being alone with your own thoughts?
I still have not recovered my sense of smell since the nostril surgery.
Really? Smell is usually linked to taste. Are you tasting any of your food? If you’re not tasting much, this is a good time to be dieting! Lots of salads.
“I called him over to ask what was up with the music selection. He said that’s what the dancers want to hear. And I responded, but what about the customers? He just shrugged. He did put a different song on, but a few minutes later, I saw a dancer change it back.”
Classic. That’s basically a parable of the Philippines in general.
The story could continue: And then the bar went out of business and the dancers cursed the selfish foreigners for not supporting them. It was obviously all their fault.
It still kinda amazes me that anyone would invest in a bar and then utterly fail to provide the most fundamental employee training or competent management. Yet we’ve all seen this rerun so many times…. Yep, so easy to just change the channel. Or shut it off and take a hike.
My thoughts exactly, Drain. I could understand the music preference if the girls were performing their dance routine. That wasn’t the case; it was the usual way of standing there and swaying occasionally. At least two older gents came in during my short visit but didn’t stay. What used to be a friendly, comfortable bar feels so much less fun now.
Kev, I still have a sense of taste, albeit likely diminished. Maybe I just remember the taste of my favorites because I still crave them.
I’m guessing Kim made a dumb choice; otherwise, she would not still be working in a bar. I asked another gal if the father was a foreigner or a Filipino, but she didn’t know.
I wear headphones on some of my solo walks because I enjoy listening to “my kind” of music. There have been times when I also wanted to drown out those bad thoughts in my head. I sometimes fantasize that I’m the musician singing the song. I have had much worse fantasies!
Is your pension COLA’d? For some reason, I thought that most government pensions were. Then again, I have never worked for the gov’t so have no idea. LOL
Brian, yes, I get a COLA adjustment every January. It helps for sure!
Good to know and nice to have. Inflation should not be too much of a worry for you then. *thumbs up
The prices on imported stuff at Royal have gone way up, but yeah, I can do without them as necessary. I’m still getting a very good dollar-to-peso exchange rate (55+), so that’s a help.
Yeah, I suppose if the Philippino peso all of a sudden got a lot stronger vs. the $, then it could be a problem.
Thai baht strengthened significantly vs. the UK pound (something like 70:1 down to 40:1) over the years so there was a lot of bitching by that particular nationality as their money did not go as far.
Yeah, that’s a scary thought to lose that much value. It’s been 55+ PHP to USD for quite some time. It was around 50 when I got here six years ago. I’ve seen it go down to the low 40s as a tourist. Stay strong, dollar!