Every few months, I get frustrated with fruitless searches for things I want and need at Royal. Well, fruit isn’t the problem, but you know what I mean. So yesterday, my driver hauled us out to the S&R membership store in the neighboring province of Pampanga. It’s a pain in the ass drive that takes over an hour with heavy traffic much of the way. For the most part, the effort was disappointing. Many items I was specifically searching for, like sugar-free pudding, were unavailable. Other items I wanted but couldn’t have, like some of my old favorite brands of ice cream, tortured me as I resisted the urge to place them in my shopping cart. I did come away with things I’ll enjoy snacking on, like this:

A couple of other pictures from the journey:

I’ll likely make another trip before my membership expires in September and then decide if renewing it is worthwhile. Some items were a little cheaper than Royal, others more expensive. But the main issue is the time and expense of making the journey and still not coming home with everything I wanted.

I also maintained my Tuesday tradition of visiting the Kokomo floating bar. Music was loud again, making it difficult to talk, so I just sat there and sipped my beer, taking it all in. There was a large group of Filipinos on board (I understand they are guests at the Kokomo Hotel), and it was surprising (to me) to see them engaged in behaviors normally only seen from “two-week millionaire” tourists. They rang the bell to buy all the girls a shot (3500 pesos) and lots of bottles of beer as well. I was certainly in no position to complain; it is folks like that that keep the floater afloat.

I didn’t stick around long enough to watch the sun go down because I’d had enough of the loud party vibe. We walked up the beach to McCoy’s, and I was gobsmacked to hear the videoke blaring as we approached. The last few times I’d visited, the barangay Captain (also named Baloy) had banned videoke, but that’s now been lifted, which is a shame. We started to sit down, but I just couldn’t take it, so we moved on.

Where to next? I suggested Snackbar, but Swan didn’t like that idea (there were too many memories there for her), so we tried Subiza. It was totally empty; no one greeted us as we entered, and her friend was not working. Nope. It was too depressing for my blood. So, we made our way to the highway, and the first bar we went to was Queen Victoria. But when we walked in, the bartender advised there was no San Miguel Zero in stock. Well, damn. After my bad experience with SM Light on Saturday night, I’m trying to confine myself to Zero. So, we turned around and walked out.

Next, we crossed the highway and popped into Whiskey Girl. It was shortly after opening, and we were the only customers. I ordered my Zero, but they didn’t have any wine flavors that Swan prefers, so she drank a San Miguel Apple beer. A bit later, my buddy Chris and his gal Shie arrived with a couple of other folks. We exchanged greetings, and they went to play pool. Then suddenly, the bar came under attack by moth-like critters that were attracted to light. I’ve never seen them swarm indoors before, but there they were out in force. The bar turned off as many lights as possible, and we moved to the back, but the bugs were still bugging us, so we finished our drinks and left.

Our night out seemed cursed, so I suggested we grab some food and head for home. Swan agreed, and our best option was Sit-n-Bull. Now, we could order take-out inside the restaurant, or we could go next door to Wet Spot and order from there. Wet Spot it was, then. While we waited, Swan got her wine, I had my Zero, and her friend Aine and our waitress Irene got a lady drink. And nothing went wrong! Our food arrived, we said goodnight and headed for home.

And that was how I filled the hours on Tuesday.

I posted this on Facebook, and not surprisingly, some of my lefty friends weren’t happy.

Ah, politics. It is pointless trying to change the minds of people who are unable and unwilling to reject the dogma they are being fed each day. I’m still hoping people wake up and see what is happening before it is too late, but I have my doubts about that.

It has been so hot here lately that the schools are closed. That’s the first time I’ve heard of that happening. Closer to home, I’ve used the air conditioner in my bedroom for the last four nights in a row, and I almost never use aircon. We changed our hike today to a location where we could mostly walk in the shade. Yeah, it is always hot here, but not this hot.

And one of the FB pages I follow about life in Angeles City gave me a laugh today. Lots of expats there are moaning about the Korean “invasion”–lots of their old favorite bars have Korean owners and some of the girls working the bars prefer Korean men, aka “triple three.” So, with that background in mind, this strikes me as funny:

How about we chill with some Quora Q&A:

Q: Does living in Korea make you feel like just giving up?

A: I spent almost 12 years living and working in Korea. Loved the country. Had my heart broken a couple of times but that’s not unique to Korea. I don’t believe in giving up.

I still miss much about my days in Korea. A lifetime ago now, though.

And things that may make you smile:

Thanks for stopping by!