I went my own way for the Hash but wound up in the right place at the right time. As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, I opted out of doing the “official” trail laid by the Hare, Vienna Sausage. I had my reasons.
To begin with, it started three kilometers out of town, requiring a Jeepney or trike ride to get there. But more importantly, it had way too many ups and downs for my liking. I don’t mind a challenging climb, especially if it is at the beginning of the hike, but damn, this trail had several hard climbs interspersed with steep descents. Normally, I’d just shortcut the Hare’s trail, but in this case, I wasn’t familiar enough with the area to feel confident in my ability to do so. Instead, I crafted my own path from my house to the On-Home, some familiar (a portion of My Bitch) and the rest areas I hadn’t hiked for a while. It worked for me, and that’s what matters.
I did a seven-minute long video of the portion of the My Bitch trail that passes through Mountain Mama Onelia’s homestead.
I hope I did a little better quality-wise, but I still have lots of room for improvement.
As we made our way to the On-Home venue, there was another surprise encounter:
We did the usual after-Hash hangout at It Doesn’t Matter, then made our way home to watch some of the Groundhog Day movie. Swan was unfamiliar with the creature or the holiday but seems to be enjoying it so far. We didn’t finish watching because we were both tired from the Hash, and the YouTube video I selected wasn’t high quality and was rife with commercials. I’ll try another version when we resume watching.
No memories of note to share today, but here is a blast from the past on the blog: paying the rent for two years in advance in cash. The comments gave me a chuckle, especially the one from my liberal ex-wife #3 complaining about a waste of taxpayer dollars. These days she is pissed at Trump and Musk for trying to save the government money.
Today’s YouTube video is a hopefully refreshing change of pace. I came upon this randomly, but I enjoyed learning about hygiene issues in the Old West. Perhaps you will, too.
And now for some humor:
Another day, another post. Thanks for hanging in there with me.
To begin with, it started three kilometers out of town, requiring a Jeepney or trike ride to get there.
Sounds like a short walk to me. But “3K out of town” is not the same as “3K from my front door.” If you had walked to the starting point, how many km would that have been? Of course, your own route was radically different, so I guess it’s a moot point.
re: your latest 7:33 video:
1. As Brian suggested, a GoPro would allow you to keep your footing. Strap it to your head or to your chest for a roughly eye-level view. Head is preferable as you have more control over the angle of your shots, but I don’t know enough about GoPros to know whether you can see what you’re filming while you’re filming it, and how you might start/stop recording if you’re free-handing (hands-freeing?) it. I normally think of GoPros as being for bikers, windsurfers, BASE jumpers, and trail runners—people intent on filming minutes of footage while doing an activity just to give everyone a first-person view, like those mountain-biking videos I occasionally slap up.
2. Why’s the breathing so phlegmy? You okay? That’s worrisome, as if mucus were collecting in your bronchi or lungs.
3. Do you ever just sit and hang with Onelia?
4. Overall, angles seem to be better. No more obsessive ass shots, and you even managed to rope in some extra characters (Onelia, Buddy Fucker, Fuck Buddy) along with the ladies.
I hadn’t seen Mama around town for several days, and I’ve never seen her way out like this on the backstreets of Barretto.
Now that you’re getting into video, I’d love to see a video’ed conversation between you and Mama—about her life, what she thinks of the town, you, the future, etc. That would, in fact, be a series I would watch faithfully (I don’t often click on the Reekay/Pea stuff): Interview a Local Filipino. Maybe one interview a week or every two weeks until you run out of locals. Interview ’em all—young and old, men and women, rich and poor. And if they don’t speak English well, Swan can be on site as an interpreter (or you can get that editing software and learn how to place English subtitles on screen).
I’d also like to see an interview with Almoranus (sp?) about his training regimen. How does he stay slim and keep those muscles? What’s his home-gym setup, or is he a gym member? And I’m sure there are other interesting expats who’d love to have their words immortalized… even if all they do is tell a dirty joke.
Circle up! Over fifty Hashers in attendance yesterday (we are normally in the mid-thirties)
So I guess almost everyone else likes Vienna Sausage’s routes?
On the ice for the socialites! (those who didn’t do a trail and just came for the circle)
Scott didn’t do the trail, eh?
Recognition on ice: Cums Alone has 22 runs, Cum Together has 333.
Well, that’s half the devil’s number. 333 more to go!
We didn’t finish watching because we were both tired from the Hash, and the YouTube video I selected wasn’t high quality and was rife with commercials. I’ll try another version when we resume watching.
I’ll just buy the movie on Apple TV. I see it’s not on Netflix for some odd reason.
Looks to have been a good Hash even if it had little to do with the actual route.
Re: Hash
Was it a special occasion that resulted in the large turnout?
Re: Apartment in Korea
Yeah, as a foreigner, renting a western style apartment in Seoul is crazy expensive. When my company was looking to base myself (and family) in Seoul, they gave me a maximum price/month I would be allowed to expense for lodging. I was blown away by the amount and after doing research, I found that the price would get a nice, but nothing spectacular, accommodation.
Brian, we had a bunch of Hashers join us from Angeles City and Manila, which brought the numbers way up. Not sure what made them all decide to come this week, but it’s always nice to see new faces.
Yeah, Seoul was crazy expensive, especially near the Army base. Our housing allowance was generous but not enough to rent the nicest places. My two-bedroom, two-bath apartment was new, modern, and furnished, and $3500 a month 20 years ago. The cost of living is one reason I didn’t stay in Korea after retirement. I really did enjoy my time there otherwise.
Kevin, the starting point wasn’t that much further from my house; it was all those climbs after the start that put me off. Next week, we start at Waltermart, a 5K journey from Barretto, and I have no issues with taking a Jeepney to get there. Leech My Nuggets is the Hare, and I always enjoy his trails. Vienna Sausage, not so much.
Yep, a hands-free camera is on my shopping list. My only concern is finding an easy way to upload the videos to my YouTube account. I also need to find some convenient software for editing.
I didn’t realize you could hear my gnarled old lungs at work in the video. The phlegm is a side-effect of the COPD, but it’s been a little worse than usual these past couple of weeks.
We take a brief rest stop at Onelia’s now and then. She doesn’t speak much English, so the conversation is light. I always dispense some cookies when I pass through.
I treated Mama to dinner a few years back. She’s also hard to talk to, and the conversation is limited and surface. Marissa was with me then, so we learned a little more about her (former bargirl at a place called Kinky’s, had some boyfriends on the ships when the Navy base was here, but not much detail). That was the time when I had rented her a place to stay on Baloy; she went in, looked around, and told me, “No, thank you.” She seems to prefer her homeless lifestyle.
I’ll consider an occasion interview with some of the local characters once I get some better equipment. I’m not sure how comfortable folks will feel being recorded, but we’ll see what happens.
Regarding the Hash attendance, some groups came up from Angeles City and Manila to join us. I don’t think that was specific to Vienna Sausage, but some of the hardcore folks enjoy his insane trails.
Nope, Scott didn’t do a trail this week. It was his girlfriend’s birthday, and he was at her beach party during the Hash run. His not being there as a guide and fellow shortcutter was a factor in my decision to forego the Hare’s trail.
Watching Groundhog Day on YouTube is a no-go. What was listed as the “full movie” turned out to be clips from the film stuck together sequentially. We gave up on that bullshit last night. I guess it is time to visit Pirate Bay.
I imagine you can just buy the movie direct from YouTube, which has its own streaming-movie service.
Just checked. Yup—you can buy it hi-definition for $12.99 or rent it for $3.99. I don’t know whether you have to sign up for YouTube Premium to be able to buy streaming movies. Lemme check.
Checked. You only need a Google account and a payment method (e.g., credit card). You also don’t need to download the movie to your computer. You can store it in a “digital locker” in the Cloud. Most services are like this. Most of my Apple TV movies are stored on the Cloud. Each movie, especially if it’s hi-def, is several gigabytes in size, and I have dozens upon dozens of movies. Not just on Apple TV, either—Amazon Prime as well. I never download.
Next week, we start at Waltermart, a 5K journey from Barretto, and I have no issues with taking a Jeepney to get there.
Yes, but would you walk to the starting point? 5K isn’t much.
I didn’t realize you could hear my gnarled old lungs at work in the video.
I wear headphones when I watch stuff on the computer so as not to disturb my neighbor. As a result, I hear every little thing. And your mike picks up every little thing.
Get editing software, dispense with a video’s audio track, and overlay the video track with a musical audio track (I know how much you love music), and add another layer of narration on top of that. We’ll miss out on the ambient noises, like wind blowing, feet crunching on soil, and phlegmy lungs, but the result might be “prettier.” Of course, you could also go all-in on the lung thing and give us a real earful of phlegm. Get a lavalier mike, clip it close to your chin, and let us hear the symphony.
One warning: if you overlay your video with a song, there’s a risk of getting a “copyright strike” from parties that think you’re using their copyrighted material. There are lawyers constantly on the prowl, looking for people using non-original music. To counter that, there are websites that sell snatches of music, from short stuff to long-form stuff, for a subscription fee, and there are no copyright problems with using those. That, or get good at making and/or recording your own original music. I’d actually love to hear an original recording of traditional Filipino music—songs, instruments, the whole shebang.
I’m not sure how comfortable folks will feel being recorded, but we’ll see what happens.
Start with the kids, and let the adults watch. If you use your cell phone, show the kids the playback afterwards so they know you mean no harm. That ought to be an opportunity for amusement and laughter, especially if someone burps or farts. Some of the adults might get interested and submit to their own exchanges with you; others might shyly or resentfully wave you away. We adults are a finicky bunch, saddled with lots of hangups acquired over years of learning how to be reclusive assholes.
she went in, looked around, and told me, “No, thank you.” She seems to prefer her homeless lifestyle.
Well, I did warn you that she’d act that way. I used to work with the homeless. You can’t just give them a residence and expect them to completely change their lifestyle. Until change occurs at the level of the mind and heart, there’ll be no progress.
Thanks for the YouTube guidance; I’ll have to check out the purchase option. I had Amazon Prime when I first moved here, but many of the shows weren’t available in the Philippines for some reason.
5K isn’t that much? Did you forget who you are talking to? Do a 5K highway walk BEFORE starting a Leech My Nuggets trail would not be a wise choice for this old fart.
Yes, I do want to have the ability to edit my videos. The first step is learning to use the software so I can use several short snippets in one video. I’d honestly prefer doing narration live, but if the background noises are that much of a distraction, I may have to reconsider. Anyway, it’s a work in progress, but I appreciate your suggestions and advice. I’ll likely be consulting you once I acquire the equipment.
I’ll attempt to make a Mama interview my first. She must have some interesting stories to tell.