And glad to have it! Filled the hours with the usual Sunday routines, although there are always little quirks to change things up some. I’m talking about stuff like this:
Then it came time for the weekly Candy Walk on the streets of San Isidro. Swan counted how many got candy, and we sweetened the day for 189 children. A good morning’s work!
Come later in the afternoon, it was time to feed the hungry girls at Hideaway Bar. My weekly visits there are increasingly becoming almost depressing. As much as I enjoy bars, an empty one feels soulless. Joy said I was the day’s first customer (they opened at eleven, and I arrived a little after four). I asked about owner Griff, who was in his room out back, sleeping off his morning rounds to other bars. So, it seems my hopes that things might change with his return will not come to fruition. Hell, I don’t know what the answer for attracting customers might be. I have a reason to be there every Sunday, but if I didn’t feel obligated to continue the weekly feeding, I wouldn’t come. The hour I spend there is nothing I enjoy, and it is a relief to be on my way again.
Next up was my Sunday dinner with Swan at John’s place. A pleasant surprise this week was seeing Em Jae, our old favorite waitress, back at work. Well, back for Sunday anyway. She is still working at a call center in Pampanga and came home for the weekend to see her kids. They needed a waitress to fill-in yesterday and she was happy to oblige. She’s heading back to Angeles today for her real job.
After dinner, we walked a few blocks up the highway and did our nightcap at It Doesn’t Matter.
And then it was time to head for home and bring another day to a close.
Commenter Ted mentioned an old Subic blogger named Warren. I vaguely recall reading his blog back in the days when I was first considering the Philippines as a retirement destination. Reader Scott said Warren also had a Facebook group called Warren’s Subic Bay. So, the blog has been gone for many years, and the Facebook group hasn’t been active since 2021. And Warren disappeared without a trace four years ago—one of those unexplained mysteries.
Interesting memes I ran across on the internet today:
In today’s YouTube video, Reekay talks about what help you can expect from your embassy should your life go to shit in the Philippines. Man, I’d hate to rely on them for anything! I have heard of cases where the embassy would arrange a flight home in a dire emergency, but your passport would be held hostage until you had reimbursed the cost of the flight. I have money in the bank, and a credit card available should things go wrong. Hopefully, I’ll never need to use them.
Some weak humor to share:
Another Hash Monday is upon me. Once again, the trail starts and finishes at the end of Rizal Extension, my least favorite location for a Hash. And the icing on the cake is there is currently a downpour going on outside. I’ve already arranged a ride to the start, but I’m keeping open the option to bail altogether or do my own trail. Today is a fine day for a bar hop! We’ll see what happens.
When I woke up and plopped down at my desk to do my usual morning internet surf, this gecko-like creature was camped out on my window.
Based on the two tails, I’d say there’s more than one.
These kids photobombed my finger shot
What’s a “finger shot”?
Food and menu both look good! I hope the Hash went well.
I was going to rest up this week and not write on account of my latest herpes flare up but, yes, that is Warren. I didn’t realise he had moved his blog to Fakebook as I don’t bother with that sort of stuff. Maybe Warren died of Covid.
That looks like your long time, regular contributor in the photo between Warren and the lady judging from the photos you have posted of Kevein before. Is that Kevin’s partner?
Griff sounds like he is exemplifying that Great British work ethic HaHa. Do you remember Dickie Valentine there? He ran the Midnight Rambler for a few years. l heard one local say he was Half Man Half Matress as he liked sleeping so much.
Speaking of Griff: Do you remember Griff’s in Calapandyan (nothing to do with your Griff)? What a spot that was of an afternoon. Heavily pegnant ladies working there and all sorts. Then there was the bar next door that ended up getting raided and the owner dying in the clink from what I heard. It opened again under a new name with a new owner but even that was closed down the last time I was there. Is the anything goes bar across the road still open?
I have always admired you having the guts to go around handing out sweets to the kids. If I was to do that here “PEDO” would be sprayed across my front door and a lynch mob on my doorstep. Speaking of Pedos, any news on that character who suddenly disappeared from your Hash House and is wanted in the US for child abuse?
Speaking of undesireibles: do you remember a a year or so back, you had an on-home or a party or some sort of gathering at someone’s house and a random guy there started behaving weirdly and then nicked someone’s purse. Is he still there? Sounds like he needs lynching.
I hope you enjoy rubberboa’s blog. He seems to dive and take a lot of interesting photos of fish when in the Philippines and then spends his time doing lots of long hikes out into the wilderness when back in the US.
Until next time.
@Kevin – I think that John was making a joke about the tip of his finger in the upper left of the photo.
Re: Video – I don’t think that any embassy should be responsible for getting you home. If you are coming to a foreign country to live or as a long term visitor, you better have an emergency fund in case things go south.
When I was working in country X (unnamed but is a big one currently have a territorial spat with the PI. LOL), I inadvertently got accused of something having to do with a group opposing the Communist Party. Embassy was very good, even flying someone from the embassy to the town I was working. I was pretty impressed with their response.
Brian, that’s an impressive account about the embassy intervening on your behalf. I’m glad you didn’t get “disappeared” by that evil government. I agree that it is not the responsibility of our embassy to bail out folks who make bad life choices. Free flights should only be for those in our country illegally (joke). Getting someone home if it is a matter of life or death is another matter; requiring reimbursement for that flight is fine by me. I didn’t mean to sound negatively judgmental in that regard. I’ve only dealt with the U.S. embassy in Manila a couple of times, and they have taken care of business. It’s a bureaucratic hassle, but that’s government.
Ted, sorry to hear about the flare-up, hope you feel better soon.
No one seems to have a clue about what happened to Warren. Someone speculated he may have returned to Thailand. And yeah, maybe he died. The guy in the middle in that photo is the woman’s husband, not Kevin. He died a few years ago. I’m friends with his widow.
I never met Dickie, but Griff is a good guy. He enjoys alcoholic beverages for breakfast and sleeps them off in the afternoon. I personally couldn’t handle that, but he seems happy. I might be more worried about his bar than he is, but what do I know? I’m just a once-a-week customer.
I’ve heard of Griff’s in Calapandayan, but it was gone before I got here. I remember reading about the bar owner who got arrested (bragging about banging underage girls to an undercover reporter, if I recall correctly). There are still a couple of bars there I’ve walked by but never visited. I have no idea what’s inside, but I expect they cater to a Filipino crowd.
Well, when I hand out goodies, I leave the van with the puppy inside at home. 🙂 Swan is the one who does the candy hand-outs. I give away cookie packages on my walks, but I usually make sure there is an adult with the kids when I do.
Nope, Hasher “I’m a fucking Cupcake” is gone without a trace. I got an email from a private investigator in the US asking about a picture I’d posted with Cupcake in it, but I have no idea where he wound up. The story I read about his crime involved underage teens.
Yeah, that guy came to a Hash and stole a phone. When confronted, he denied it. He pissed someone else off a few weeks later and got his ass kicked. Wisely, he left town shortly after that, hopefully never to be seen again.
Thanks again for the info and link. You take care.
You can see my fat-assed finger in the left corner of the photo. I blame the kids!