Well, what I mean is that yesterday I got stood up. Samantha, the young woman attending school for a degree in HR management, had agreed earlier in the week to meet me at Sit-n-Bull at 3 p.m. for a meal prior to her going to work. I arrived a few minutes early and sent her a message asking “are you coming?” She promptly responded, “where?” Um. I reminded her that she had agreed to meet up with me, and sent screenshots of our messages to that effect. She said she was still at school. “Aren’t you going to work?” I asked. She replied, “maybe I’ll go late or maybe not at all because I’m tired.” I just answered, “all right. Good luck.”
The purpose of the meet-up was so I could get a feel for whether she was legit and worthy of my support. Assuming she would prove to be, I also wanted to get some clarity on how much her education was costing and what kind of assistance she required. I guess in a backhanded way I got my answer. Maybe she just forgot our “date”, but damn, she didn’t even offer any apology. And to say you are just going to blow off work because you are tired does not sound like someone who has much future as a human resources professional. Pretty disappointing really. She sent me a message this morning asking if I would see her at work today and I told her I have darts tonight. I’ve kind of lost interest in this project now.
So, there I am sitting alone like a fool in Sit-n-Bull. I stayed until 4:00 but decided to go somewhere else to eat. John’s place is always a good option, so I took the longish walk across town and climbed the steps to the third-floor bar. I had a “buy one, get one” drink coupon to use there as well. I ordered the pulled pork sandwich and bought the girls behind the bar some fish tacos to share. It was all good as usual.
After finishing my beers I was ready to move on. It had been a while since I’d visited Cheap Charlies, so I made that my next stop. I sat down, ordered a beer, and was soon joined by a lovely young lady on either side of me. And yes, they were thirsty. So, we all drank together and watched the sun go down.
And then I saw the full moon.
After drinking my fill, I was ready to head out. The final coupons in my wallet dictated my destination–Thumbstar. This is a bar I don’t usually frequent, mostly because I don’t like the manager. And that dislike has nothing to do with the fact that he married my crush, Heidi. I believe the last time I visited this venue was when I did the Bars of Barretto review. My, how times have changed! The place was packed. I found a place along the wall to sit my lonesome behind down and take in the scene. My coupons (I had two) were “buy one lady drink, get two customer drinks”. That’s actually a pretty damn good deal, certainly good enough to get me in the door. But I’d have to find a worthy lovely to share in the bounty. I ordered up a beer and looked around to see what might be available. Heidi passed by and briefly greeted me before returning to a big spender’s table. I contented myself with watching the dancers on stage. One of them noticed me looking in her direction, grabbed her friend, and came down to join me. Problem solved I guess.
I’ve been coming to the Philippines since 2008 and have never experienced what happened next. The girls were both very aggressive in trying to spark my interest in spending time with them outside of the bar. Hands rubbing me below the waist, pulling down their tops and showing me their tits, lifting the skirt for a panty shot, and then pulling the panties aside for a pussy view. No thanks. That’s just not my style. Their efforts were having the opposite impact on me so I had no problem declining their entreaties to book a short time room upstairs, come home with me, or just go barhopping. I politely told them I wasn’t in the mood but did reward them with a second lady drink.
With the free drinks consumed, I headed out the door with my integrity (such as it is) intact. Did want to cleanse my palate though, so popped into Outback for one more before heading home. It was my first visit since being rudely treated by my “friend” the bartender. She wasn’t rude last night, but she wasn’t particularly friendly either. One of the waitresses was though and I enjoyed sharing a drink and some banter with her. That’s the difference between a regular bar and a girly bar. The girls aren’t available for “take out” in Outback so they have no reason to be aggressive in the pursuit of a customer. They are very happy to get a lady drink though and will laugh at your jokes in return. That’s a win-win in my book.
There was one strange thing that happened. This Filipino couple comes in to play pool. Both fully masked, which is not that unusual. The girl pulled hers down almost immediately, but the guy left his on (not even a true mask, a totally worthless bandana wrapped around his face). I probably wouldn’t have even noticed, but he came over to the bar for his beer, pulled the mask down, took a swig, and then pulled the mask back up. What an ignorant fool. The bar wasn’t even crowded.
Anyway, to each his own I suppose. It is nice to see the stupid self identify.
I had a solitary and pleasant enough flat walk of 9.5K to start my Thursday. I’ll let Relive tell that story.
Well, I guess I ought to give you the Easter mountain shot at least.
And yes, I did take time to stop and smell the flowers.
And that was my day. Not so typical, but not so bad when it was all said and done.
The purpose of the meet-up was so I could get a feel for whether she was legit and worthy of my support. Assuming she would prove to be, I also wanted to get some clarity on how much her education was costing and what kind of assistance she required. I guess[,] in a backhanded way[,] I got my answer. Maybe she just forgot our [“date,”] but damn, she didn’t even offer any apology. And to say you are just going to blow off work because you are tired does not sound like someone who has much future as a [human-resources] professional. Pretty disappointing[,] really. She sent me a message this morning[,] asking if I would see her at work today[,] and I told her I have darts tonight. I’ve kind of lost interest in this project now.
Can’t say I blame you. Samantha’s old enough to have a basic notion of responsibility. If she’s still acting like a child, then I expect her to make a series of bad life-choices that will see her pregnant with her third child by age 25 and plaintively begging some Western sugar daddy for $$$ while feeding him some BS sob story about her oh-so-hard life. That seems to be the template for so many women in the PI, judging from all you’ve written. If some Western guy were to grab such a girl and give her a genuine, stable life in the States, I suspect she’d do something to fuck it up. Because in life, we establish a mean, and we—most of us, anyway—always return to it.
Samantha can find a second chance with someone else.
I don’t believe your story from Thumbstar. Let’s see the evidence.
But in all seriousness, can’t say I’m all that surprised about the misadventure with Samantha. I’ve seen lots of pinays piss away opportunities for an actual break that could change their lives, only to pout later and angle for a quick and temporary bailout. The worst thing you can do is indulge and enable that shit. Bad for them and you.
Rule number one, always.
Yeah, seems like the ability to think in the long term (or even at least the medium term) is sorely lacking in a lot of the girls you meet. Dont know if it is a sign of immaturity, upbringing, culture, or probably a bit of all of the above.
Kevin, yeah, I think you are right on point here. Things are the way they are with so many Filipinas because of their own failure to take accountability for their lives. It’s always a matter of “bad luck”. [I noted the subtle punctuation lesson in the quoted text. Didn’t realize just how bad I am. I will try harder!]
DS, yep, it’s always someone else’s fault. I’ve noted the behavior you describe all too frequently. I’ve been reminding myself of “Rule #1” with increasing regularity lately.
Brian, I agree it is an “all of the above” combination of bad behaviors that perpetuate the circle of poverty here. I’ve noticed that many Filipinas I encounter have an “I’ll worry about it tomorrow” attitude that seems to preclude taking steps to plan for a brighter future.
Come on McCrarey, she’s a kid. When i was 18 I could barely tie my shoes. No apology is necessary from her. Peace Out!
Nice to hear from you, Soju! Thought you’d had enough of my escapades or something. Anyway, you are right–no apologies necessary. I’m not sorry I won’t be funding her education.