Mostly normal

Back in the groovy routines of an ordered life once more. So, there was no need to shout “May Day!” yesterday, although it being a holiday here (Labor Day) made for some heavier-than-normal traffic to deal with when crossing the highway. I survived it, though, and I’m thankful for the opportunity to share my account of the day with some accompanying photographs for your viewing pleasure.

We began the morning with a long Jeepney ride to Castillejos for a walkabout on some seldom-visited roads. It had been long enough since my last visit that I forgot where I was going and wound up missing my favorite portion of the hike. Oh well, that’s just the way it goes sometimes with my increasingly addled brain. Everything old is new again!

Beth and Swan shared the adventure.
The way ahead.
False advertising. The area was Spock-less.
As seen on the wall of an abandoned resort. Cheers!
Govic highway, good to see you, my old friend. Govic highway, we’ve seen better days. The morning after blues, from my head down to my shoes. Govic highway, let me slip away, slip away on you.
Off the highway, and Lightfooting it on the backroads of Castillejos.
A mansion in the boondocks.
Those teeth ain’t gonna rot by themselves!
A gathering of angels.
A tree that caught my eye.
My misdirection put us back on the National Highway much further up the road than I intended, so we had the added joy of walking in heavy traffic.
The blue is where I should have gone. Well, we did 7K on a hot day, so there’s that.

For our Thursday evening out, we did the other side of town for a change of scenery.

Passed another funeral banner on the way into town. This guy was fifteen years older than me. That’s my goal! Well done, Anastacio!
First stop, Outback for the beach views.
No, that’s not a beach.

Swan’s solitary glass of wine and my three beers later, we headed up the beach to Mango’s for some dinner.

The pork chop platter, as usual. We shared one.

Then, for our nightcap, we visited a bar that is becoming one of our favorites, Cloud 69. It’s a smaller dancing girl bar, but they play good music, and it has a cozy and comfortable ambiance.

Treats for the sweet is the way I roll these days. The gals seem to appreciate the gesture. I still buy a lady drink or two for the hard-working waitress who serves us.
And I decided to implement my Alaska routine by tipping each of the dancers 50 pesos for their performance.
This photo cracked me up. Tipping is done, and the girls are all focused intently on the big-spending Japanese guys who came into the bar.
And the guys didn’t disappoint, picking their favorite gals to join them at the table with some lady drinks.

I talked about the ambiance of Cloud 69. When we had the bar to ourselves, they played music that an old guy like me enjoys. When the new group came in, they played songs for them, including some Japanese rap, something I never knew existed. No complaints from me, it was entertaining watching the action.

With Sheryl, our waitress. We first met her when she worked at Alaska Club.
And just before we departed, Ashley, our friend from It Doesn’t Matter, came in. Apparently, she has a side business selling Avon products to the bar girls in town. It was nice seeing her.

And so, another nice day in the life came to an end.

Today’s journey through the LTG archives brought back a reminder of the transient friendships that were a unique aspect of my life in Korea. Many of the people I met in the Itaewon bars and dart league were soldiers. And soldiers only stayed in Korea for a one-year tour (sometimes two) before moving on to their next assignment. Such was the case with Mario, and in a post from August 2007, I recount the traditional farewell dart tournament held in his honor. This post is the first I’ve seen where the photographs haven’t disappeared. They are not above the captions like they should be, but they are there in reverse order at the end of the post. One of the photos is of Se Hwa, my first Korean love. It was good to recall the timeframe of our courtship. So, this post has earned The Story of My Life tag.

This isn’t one of my personal memories, but seeing this meme today took me back to those glory days of the 1970s. I drank my share of Boone’s Farm wine, that’s for sure.

But I do have some Facebook memories from this day in the life:

Seven years ago, I paid my final visit to the Camp Humphries commissary. One of the perks of working for the Army that I’ve missed ever since.
Eight years ago, I left the hustle and bustle of Seoul for my new life in sleepy Anjeong-ri. It took some getting used to.
I also signed my lease for the Star Palace, my new residence in Anjeong-ri, eight years ago. Uncle Sam picked up the tab, which is another great benefit of working for the Army overseas.

Today’s YouTube video is another from Smart Girl Philippines. There is something about her that makes me smile whenever she talks. Most of what she says makes sense as well.

Let’s try these on for size:

This one is a a little flat…
Why have I never heard of this?
More and more, every day.

At least I remembered to update the blog, so there’s that. Let’s see if I remember to come back tomorrow.

1 thought on “Mostly normal

  1. …but seeing this meme today took me back to those glory days of the 1970s

    All that flammable hair!

    Let’s see if I remember to come back tomorrow.

    At the rate you’re going, it might be more important for your mind to survive to 85 than for your body to live that long. Watch out for those ruffians, D. Mentia, C. Nility, and D. Crepitude. Make plans so that, when you’re too old to remember where your wallet went, someone will be around to guard against all the vultures who inevitably gather around people with money as they age. And definitely take measures now to avoid getting put in some senior home (assuming that you, like so many of your cohort, hate the idea of being tucked away in an “assisted-living community” that smells like piss and sounds like constant groaning).

    Stay independent as long as you can, but you can really help yourself by not destroying your brain cells with the sauce. Set up a chain of contacts leading back to the US in the event you get hospitalized and end up in a coma or something. Or don’t if you prefer to remain isolated from your US family. Whatever works.

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