There have been quite a few squalls around this past couple of days. Just when you think this storm track has finally moved on, another heavy downpour blows in and a few minutes later is gone. Until the next one arrives. Trying to decide when or if you can head outdoors is a crapshoot. I did carry my umbrella when I ventured out yesterday only to have it destroyed by the gusty wind. Talk about being tropically depressed!

Anyway, the weather is the weather. Nothing you can do about it but complain and now that I have done that, I’ll move on to something else. How about darts? Well, okay then!

I took the ill-fated (for my umbrella) stroll out to Baloy beach yesterday afternoon to participate in the tournament at Johan’s Dive Resort. That’s dive as in scuba dive, not that the place is a dump. it’s actually relatively new, and while not fancy, it is a clean and pleasant atmosphere. I kind of dreaded walking up Baloy road because I knew after all this rain the pothole-filled street would be flooded. And it was. I managed to keep my feet mostly dry by some creative maneuvering, until the umbrella fiasco. As I was trying to get the damn thing straightened out I stepped into a big puddle. Oh well.

It was the first time I’d participated in the Johan’s tourney. Their board setup isn’t ideal (people walking through to get to the restroom) and the lighting is barely adequate. It’s also an open-air type bar so the windy conditions made accurate throwing more of a challenge than normal. Which is not to make excuses, my game was off but that’s on me. I drew Vincent, a French guy from New Caledonia, as my partner. He threw somewhat better than I did but was also inconsistent. Luckily for us, when I was off, he was on and vice-versa. And that combination was good enough to prevail against all of our opponents in the tournament.

Actually, Vincent wasn’t supposed to have even been here. He left a couple of days ago to travel back home. Apparently, there is only one flight a week to New Caledonia which has imposed a pretty severe lockdown on the small island. He had a seat reserved on that flight from Japan. When he got to the airport in Manila to make that connection in Tokyo, they wouldn’t let him board. Why? Because his COVID swab test was from the Red Cross in Olongapo and Philippine Air only accepts test results from designated facilities in Manila. He’s not sure now when or if he’ll make it back home. Good luck with that!

Well, there are worse places to be stuck than here in my little town I suppose. Even when it rains you can find somewhere to play darts. Which I might do AGAIN this afternoon. Hey, I’m on a roll!