As is my habit, I turned on the air conditioner in my bedroom before going to bed. I usually wake up a few hours later feeling chilly so I have to get up and turn it off. But last night when I awoke my room was still warm. Even in my sleepy stupor, I found that odd. As I attempted to go back to sleep my mind was wondering what was wrong with the a/c unit and what would be involved in fixing it.

A couple of hours later I was awakened again, this time by a dog barking outside in the street. It was quite loud, so I got up to see what was going on. It was then that I discovered I had failed to close my windows. This explained both why the barking was so annoying and why my room had remained so warm. I closed the windows which fixed the problem with the air-con. I slept pretty well after that.

In totally unrelated news, I did a small bar crawl last night. A couple of my old favorites had just reopened and I felt it would be appropriate to show my support. I started out at Captain’s Arms. I was disappointed that the manager I knew from the Hash wasn’t working. I had actually gone to see her specifically, wanting to tease her about finding her profile on a dating website I visit. I was the only customer and the two waitresses on duty gave me their full and undivided attention. Turns out they were thirsty from not having a lady drink commission since the reopening. Naturally, I bought them each a drink before leaving. No vibe at all in this bar though and unless my manager friend returns I doubt I will.

Next up was Wet Spot which had just opened that afternoon. There was a pretty good “crowd” of eight or so guys, all sitting around the manager’s table. What was different though was that unlike other bars that have reduced staff (under the new rules they can only seat to 50% capacity) there must have been twenty or more gals sitting around waiting for something to do. No dancers however which is pretty bizarre. Again, it was all just too weird for me, so it was one beer and out. I’ll give them a try again in a week or so to see how things shake out.

Then I popped into Alaska Club, another old favorite. In fact, Alaska was the first bar I ever visited in the Philippines, although that was back when it was located in Angeles City. The owner is home in the USA right now, there were no dancers and just one other customer. Just not the same atmosphere I used to enjoy. One beer and done here as well.

I finished my night at my new old favorite, Mango’s. Sat in my regular seat beachside on the back patio, drank beer, ate grilled pork chops, and watched the light show as a thunderstorm rolled across the bay. It was a nice way to end the night.

Anyway, the bars are trying to make a comeback but it is nothing like it was and I fear that many are bound to fail. The expat community isn’t large enough to support all the drinking establishments and it doesn’t look like tourists are going to be allowed back in the country anytime soon. It’s those “two-week millionaires” that generate the revenue needed to make a profit.

It appears that I’m going to become the cliche old man ranting about the good ole days. Time will tell. Now get off my lawn!