Ha! Low and slow is a good description of old age, grilling meats, and my day. Here’s how it went down:
I did the long dog walk (3.5 versus the normal 1.5) to change things up a tad and get some extra steps in. The boys’ tongues were flopping when we finished. Then, I embarked on my Standard Saturday Solo Stroll through the streets of Barretto. I lengthened that up some, too, by walking all the way home instead of stopping at Sit-n-Bull for takeout.
The power was still out when I got back home and my laptop battery was about gone. No fans to cool things off either, which made taking a nap difficult. I got up to find out what Swan was doing and saw this:
I don’t recall any girlfriend, wife, or lover of mine actually reading a book of poems. I sometimes subjected them to my recitations, but no one ever showed much interest in this old passion of mine. Needless to say, I was impressed. Then I noticed she had folded the page corner of her favorites. This was one of them:
Power was restored, I blogged and showered, then asked if Swan would join me for dinner. She’d been hinting around that she wanted to eat at Pugon Corner Smoke Yard, so that’s where I took her.
I was disappointed to get the “sorry, sir. out of stock” reply to my request for the baby back ribs. We decided to get an order of pork ribs and some pulled pork and share.
Both came with sides of coleslaw and fries. Swan gave me her slaw, and she got my high-carb fries. I thought the portions were a tad small, but they tasted good. It was after six on a Saturday night, and we were the only customers. That can’t be good. Then again, an acoustic duo was setting up for live music as we left, so maybe they get a later crowd. I’ll be back one day and try for the baby backs again.
We had our nightcap at Alaska Club, then made it an early evening and headed home. I served some sugar-free butterscotch pudding for dessert, and we were off to bed. I’d rate it a good day.
Today’s Quora Q&A:
Q: Why do Western people want to retire in the Philippines?
A: I imagine everyone has their own reasons. It is a beautiful country with warm and friendly people. What’s not to like? The cost of living is cheaper for some things, while it is more expensive for others(like imported goods). Overall, though, I do live better here on my pension than I could back home.
Here’s a little anecdote that might shed some more light on the question. I was living in South Korea prior to retiring. I brought my Korean girlfriend with me once for a visit. She had a great time, but she broke up with me on the last night of our stay. I asked her why and she said we don’t have a future together because I wanted to retire and move to the Philippines. “Who wants to live in a poor country?” she asked me. I responded that you can live in your rich country and pretend this world doesn’t exist, or you can move to a place like the Philippines and make a difference. I choose the latter.
I have been living here for three years now. I have a full-time helper and several other folks I employ on a part-time as-needed basis. I may not be changing the world, but my presence has made a difference in their lives, at least.
One of my more popular answers, with over 100,000 views and 514 upvotes.
Things I found funny:
Had enough? Me too. Back tomorrow with the Palm Sunday report. Oh, and welcome to Holy Week. It’s a big deal here in primarily Catholic Philippines.
re: old Bruce
Lots of jokes online about how the nearly unrecognizable Bruce Springsteen looks like either Megan Rapinoe, the obnoxious soccer player, or Ricardo Montalban in his role as Khan in “Star Trek II.”
re: universal-translator humor
Picard is saying, “First, I think that our universal translators have been damaged.” (Yes, he’s using the plural.)
I don’t know Hebrew, so I can’t translate that part.
Beverly’s saying, “Commander, our universal translator seems to have been destroyed.” (It’s hard to tell, in Korean, whether she’s also using the plural.)
I never watched the series “Star Trek: Discovery,” but I did see one clip on YouTube in which the entire bridge crew, kind of like in the biblical “Tower of Babel” story, suddenly starts speaking in foreign languages, with no one speaking the same language. So you hear French, Chinese, Vulcan, etc., spoken by people who don’t normally speak those languages. “Discovery” was panned as a woke turd, so I won’t be watching that episode to understand the context. I did, however, find the clip.
Nice to know Swan has her deeper side. Of course, I’ve suspected a deeper side for a while, now, given that she’s not the usual low-quality, cock-gobbling barfly with three kids, no coherent finances, and no life plan. She’s in control of her life, spending and budgeting wisely, and more or less comfortable with your habits. Most of the girls who’d left you before were flaky and flighty, averse to stability and responsibility because of their immaturity. Please don’t lose this one. She’s a catch.
This creative idea made me laugh.
For a while, this was a fad: severed-head prank photos. Maybe I can dig some up. I’d posted some pics a few years ago.
re: food pics
It all looks good, but yeah, I’d probably want to order more, too.
Well, at least Bruce isn’t flabby or fat; I’ll give him that. He does sound stupid when he talks about politics, though.
Thanks for the translations. I didn’t even recognize the Hebrew. Appreciate the clip, but like you, I have no interest in the series.
Yep, Swan is like a dream come true. I’ll do my best to not fuck it up.
Heh, I guess I missed out on the severed-head fad. That’s the first one I’d seen, and it cracked me up.
I’ve noticed that restaurants that cater to a primarily Filipino clientele have smaller portions/lower prices. They do offer platters with several items for around 1500 pesos ($30) and enough for two that I might try next time.