Tuesdays are my most blah day of the week. A rainy Tuesday only makes it worse. But still, there are always ways to add a little spice and make it seem a little different than normal.
When there is nothing of interest to say about the grocery shopping experience, that’s a good thing. But it is easy for an old man with diminishing brain capacity to fuck that up. At least I remembered to bring my credit card with me this week. But when it came time to pay my 8900 peso bill at the YBC supermarket, my card was rejected. Twice. Luckily, I had enough cash in my wallet to avoid additional embarrassment. Back in the car, I tried to open my credit union app on the phone, but couldn’t get a connection. Oops, my data network was turned off. Then I opened the app, checked my credit card, and sure enough, I had neglected to unlock it (I keep it locked after having been scammed recently). I unlocked the card, and it worked just fine at Royal. I create problems, and then I solve them. Good stuff, eh?
Next up was my weekly visit to Dr. Jo for an Ozempic injection. I only lost one pound last week, but at least I’m moving in the right direction.
Like a miracle, the rain stopped just before beer o’clock, and we hoofed it into town without the need for umbrellas. Kicked off our evening at Sloppy Joe’s.
Two of my favorites at Alaska Club (right next door to Sloppy’s) walked past on their way to work and couldn’t be bothered to respond to my greeting. Not even a nod or a smile. Even Swan found their behavior rude. Oh, well. It’s good when people show you who they are. I scratched off my plan to make Alaska our next stop.
And then the rain started coming down in buckets. And didn’t stop. We extended our stay at Sloppy Joe’s, waiting for the break in the storm that never came. Now what? Well, we had umbrellas, but I knew the highway would be flooded, so walking would be wading. Then I remembered the bar upstairs from us, Tryst, had recently reopened. We decided to give it a try.
We were the only customers, which I suppose isn’t unusual since we are early birds (it was only 7 pm) and it was pouring rain. Four gals were working, and they seemed genuinely happy to see us. Only two dancers, but damn, they put some effort into it. That’s something you rarely see in the bars these days.
I bought them all a lady drink and handed out cookies and lollipops. They were happy and thanked us profusely. I hope Tryst makes it, but I have my doubts. More bars than customers in Barretto these days, but you never know.
When it was time to head home, there were no trikes at the trike stand, so we had to wait. Finally, one pulled up to drop someone off, and we were able to catch a ride. As I predicted, the highway was indeed flooded:
Well, at least I won’t be complaining about the heat for a while.
From the August 2019 LTG archives is another chapter in the “one lifetime, many lives” series. This one was about my life as a letter carrier with the United States Postal Service. It was good while it lasted and led to bigger things.
Today’s YouTube video lists 10 countries where expats don’t live in fear of crime. Spoiler alert: The Philippines isn’t among them. That said, I feel perfectly safe walking in my little town of Barretto. I wouldn’t feel that way in Manila.
You are never safe from my jokes:
A husband and wife had four boys. The odd part of it was that the older three had red hair, light skin, and were tall, while the youngest son had black hair, dark eyes, and was short.
The father eventually took ill and was lying on his deathbed when he turned to his wife and said, “Honey, before I die, be totally honest with me – is our youngest son my child?”
The wife replied, “I swear on everything that’s holy that he is your son.”
With that, the husband passed away. The wife then muttered, “Thank God he didn’t ask about the other three.”
Will the next one be his?
Anyway, that’s the best I can do for today. I may be walking in the rain this evening, but hopefully I’ll be able to get to a bar while my feet are dry. That beer ain’t gonna drink itself, you know.
Re: Alaska Club girls
Could the supposed slight be nothing more than they didn’t hear you? It has happened to me more than once that I will talk to someone and be completely ignored. Then I find out that they have ear buds in and never heard me or were so engrossed in the phone that they never heard me. (Of course, it could be that they were legitimately ignoring me also, but I like to think otherwise!! LOL)
And I myself have actually done it also. Someone will call out to me and for whatever reason, I didn’t hear them nor acknowledge them even if I was apparently looking right at them. Was probably “in the zone” and just blocking out external stuff. Sometimes the actual reason is pretty benign.
Re: your throwback post
What are your general thoughts on unions and has it changed over the years? IMO, they definitely had a place, but I think a lot of them have failed to adapt. Of course, easy for me to say as someone who has never had a union job. I suppose if I were in a position where the company was trying to screw me over, and the union was my backup, I would be in favor of them 100%.
Re: Video on safest countries
Japan, for me, ranks far and away the safest country I have visited. Blew me away that people keep their seat/table in a coffeeshop by leaving their phone or computer in that spot. They can come back 30 minutes later and be 100% sure it will still be there.
Brian, I always felt safe during my visits to Japan as well. People returning lost cash is pretty amazing. When I moved to Seoul, I was amazed to be walking (stumbling) home through back alleys in the wee hours and to see unescorted females out and about without a care or thought for potential danger. Definitely a different culture.
You need to be on your guard in the Philippines. Not so much from violence, but pickpockets and the like. I keep my wallet in my front pocket and put my hand over it when I’m riding a Jeepney.
Brian, I’d give them the benefit of the doubt normally, but I did get a sideward glance before being ignored. Swan noticed it as well. No big deal, next time I visit Alaska, I’ll ignore them too.
I was raised in a working-class family, and my father was a union man with the merchant marines. I remember once, as a grown-up, I brought home some Coors Light beer. My dad was a beer lover, but he angrily said, “Get that scab out of my house!” (the Coors brewery was non-union).
For the most part, I believe it is a good thing to have unions around to protect the interests of their employees. Sadly, many have become politicized and don’t put that mission at the top of the agenda. When I was a union leader, I always tried to be fair. The language in the bargaining agreement was generally clear and straightforward, and both parties needed to adhere to the agreed-upon rules. That approach worked for me and led to my first promotion–the HR Director said she respected the way I handled our meetings over grievances. When I represented management, I took the same route–if we were in the wrong, I told them so. When we were right, I told the union that we could settle this in binding arbitration. I loved those hearings, and not to brag, I was pretty damn good at it.