The Wednesday Walkers hike was supposed to begin with a Jeepney ride out to Philseco Road on the far side of Subic. Except we couldn’t get there from here. The first Jeep we hailed and boarded had not gone far before we discovered his last stop was in Magnan Vaca (Waltermart). Oops, our bad. We should have checked the sign on his windshield. So, we disembarked and hailed a Jeepney with Castillejos (the next town after our destination) in the windshield. He stopped at Waltermart and said he wasn’t going further (our group were the only passengers). We argued and offered to pay an extra 100 pesos to take us the two kilometers to Philseco Road, but the driver wouldn’t budge. Literally. I’ve never experienced a Jeepney not going the posted distance before. Anyway, we got out and walked the rest of the way to our intended starting point.

Scott and I are the Hares for the Hash on April 29th, so yesterday was a scouting mission to ensure there were no kinks in our intended trail. One potential problem is uncooperative Jeepney drivers. We may rent a Jeepney to transport the Hashers to the trail start instead of relying on the whims of random drivers. Otherwise, the trail we hiked should work for the Hash–7.5K (not counting the additional steps from Waltermart) and one relatively easy hill climb. The section where we walked through the busy Subic Market area may be altered so the Hashers can enjoy a more tranquil hike. We’ve got time to work that out.

The resort has updated its menu since my last visit. I was not planning to eat until I saw this:

I had business in town yesterday–using my remaining SOB coupons before they expired. I started at The Green Room, where I had some money on my 1500 peso voucher to expend. I’m doing gin and soda (with a can of soda on the side), which is twice the price of a beer. My money was gone after two drinks. I also bought my “regulars,” each a lady drink, so I lost money on that deal. When Wet Spot opened next door, I headed over to use my last coupon:

In addition to being more expensive, the gin and soda routine is harder to manage sobriety-wise. I was definitely a little tipsy by the end of the night. And once again, the damn coupon wound up costing me money. In perhaps an overly generous moment, I bought a large 800 peso pizza from Sit-n-Bull for the bargirls to share. Maybe I’d best stick with beer and just be fat and happy.

Anyhoo, got the party on the roof coming up later today. I’ve got chili cooking in the crockpot, and I baked up a slew of cornbread muffins and a batch of brownies. Swan and the team of helpers have been busy in the kitchen all morning as well. Should be some good eating and drinking going down up there soon. Looking forward to it.

Today’s Quora Q&A:

Q: As an expat in a foreign country, what are your burial, cremation, or funeral plans? Will it be in your current or home country?

A: Well, one thing is for sure once I’m dead it isn’t going to matter to me. Still, I don’t want to leave the burden on my children. I had a friend here (the Philippines) die last year and his family went through a lot of hassle and expense to get his body back home for burial. My plan is to be cremated and have my ashes dumped in the bay or maybe in the mountains where I hike. It’s really not a big deal to me, keep it cheap and easy!

There are some things I need to do so the people I leave behind are overly burdened by my passing. I’ll get busy with that soon.

Humor me, please.

That’s all for now, folks.