Nothing wrong with normal

And it was good to be back at it. Did the morning group hike with the Wednesday Walkers to kick off the day.

Our group plus Scott (taking the photo)
We started with a stroll through Alta Vista
Taking the back way out of Alta Vista
And then we were in the Philippines
The remains of the day. In the PI, the body of the deceased is on display at home prior to being buried.
Didn’t make it to 50. Rest in peace, Grace.
Steve and Tim taking it from the rear. The trail I mean.
Still there.
Sweets for the sweet
Down in the valley
The valley so low
A bridge to crossover, and here we go!
A sturdier crossing on Bridge #4
Rest stop
Back at it
This area was a little shady, but we made it through
It had been several months since I last passed this way, but the kids spotted me and came running.
This made me a little nervous when the children hurried across the highway. Fortunately, there was a lull in the traffic.
The trail wasn’t ALL flat…
Over Bridge #3
The last delivery of the hike
Heading for home
The climb up to Alta Vista
Almost there
Made it! Our trek was doing a loop around Easter Mountain
We finished it off with lunch at The Rite Spot On The Roof
Our journey was a little over 9K long

A nap, a shower, and a blog post later, it was time to head into town. One of my Wednesday objectives is to patronize a seldom-visited bar just to change things up a little and to see what I might be missing. My plan was to start things off at Mugshots, but alas, they were not open. It could be a Wednesday thing, or maybe they open later than 5 p.m. Whatever the case, we made Cheap Charlies our plan B.

Inside Cheap Charlies
Outside Cheap Charlies

It was a gin and soda night, and after I’d downed two, we were ready to move on to another seldom-visited venue–Alaska Club. There was a pool tourney taking place, but otherwise, no other customers. Three dancers were on stage when we arrived; a little bit later, there were six. I wasn’t paying attention to them, but Swan leaned over and said, “They are waiting for you.” Oh yeah, during my rare visits to Alaska, I usually tip the dancers 50 pesos each in recognition of the fact that they are one of the few groups on stage in Barretto that actually dance, especially when there are no customers. Anyway, that’s why the other three went up on stage so that they wouldn’t miss out on the tip. I called the waitress over, gave her three one hundred peso notes, and asked for change. When the 50s arrived, I dutifully handed one to each girl on stage, and they seemed happy with their bounty. When I sat back down, three of the dancers left the stage. Made me smile.

I’d brought along some lollipops and cookies to share with the crew, and they all seemed to appreciate them as well. Here’s an example of why I love Swan. Our waitress is a lesbian. So, when it came time to hand out the goodies, I leaned over and whispered to Swan, “I’m going to tell our waitress that I know she doesn’t like doesn’t like to suck, but I bet she’d like to eat a cookie.” Swan burst out laughing. It’s nice to have a girl who appreciates my sense of humor!

Two more gin and sodas, and it was time to move on to our nightcap venue right next door at The Green Room. Two wines for Swan, four gins for me, and six lady drinks later, we’d had our fill and brought the Wednesday outing to an end. It was a good night out on the town.

A breakfast salad, chicken nuggets lunch, and meatballs for dinner. Plus “snacking” on alcoholic beverages. Still managed to stay on plan somehow.
And a pretty healthy walking day, too.

A couple of Facebook memories from Korea today:

Fourteen years ago, I shared this photo of my then-favorite Itaewon hangout, Dolce Vita. It is no longer in operation.
Seven years ago, I was walking in the snow in Pyeongtaek. We also have four seasons here in the Philippines, though: Hot, Hotter, Hot and Wet, and Rainy.

Today’s YouTube video is about a pretty shocking housing scam. The victim made some dumb mistakes, the most important one being trusting someone he thought was a friend. I made the decision when I moved here to not buy property. I’m wavering a little in that because I would like to make sure Swan is taken care of when my time on Earth is over. Hopefully, I’ll be smarter than these guys if I do.

Now for the funny stuff:

I told Swan I want a 50-50 relationship: She cooks, I eat. 50-50. I make a mess, she cleans. 50-50. She said, that’s fine. I buy, you pay. 50-50.
Say what? I have some nice memories from my days carrying mail.
That’s another reason I don’t like early starts to going out; it interferes with my nap time.

Speaking of which, I have a 2:00 p.m. appointment today with Dr. Jo for my next session of chelation therapy. After that, I have to get my sorry ass to Baypointe Hospital on SBMA to visit my ophthalmologist concerning some eye issues I’ve been experiencing. I may stick around on SBMA for dinner after that appointment. We’ll see.

1 thought on “Nothing wrong with normal

  1. Steve and Tim taking it from the rear. The trail I mean.

    Tim is the visiting Amerikanski, yes, but now with better footwear?

    Still managed to stay on plan somehow.

    I think, when Brian asked you about a food breakdown in that previous post, he may have been wondering about how much of your meal was carbs. That previous post featured some very carby food. If you’re under your calorie budget but still Hoovering up a lot of carbs, you’re not doing yourself any favors.

    I have a 2:00 p.m. appointment today with Dr. Jo for my next session of chelation therapy. After that, I have to get my sorry ass to Baypointe Hospital on SBMA to visit my ophthalmologist concerning some eye issues I’ve been experiencing.

    Good luck with all that. Is the chelation working?

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