As I live out this final chapter of my life, sometimes I need to take a step back and take time to reflect on the blessings that have been bestowed upon me rather than bitch and moan about the parts that are less than ideal. One thing I am thankful for is my overall good health. Yeah, I get the aches and pains that come with old age, but I’m no longer suffering from the breathing attacks that tormented me a couple of years ago. My blood pressure is the lowest it’s ever been (consistently in the 1-teens over low 70s). Once I complete my quest to lose the excess poundage, some of the other risk factors will be reduced as well. I see a lot of my fellow expats who can barely walk, so even my ability to do my easy hikes is something to be appreciated. Whatever the future may bring, I’m going to do my best to live in the moment and be grateful for all that I have.
Yesterday’s Wednesday Walkers group hike was special in its ordinariness. We did a mostly flat, mostly paved trek from the Subic Market to Waltermart, totaling almost 7K. We carried umbrellas, but miraculously never had to open them. The downpours resumed within an hour of our completion of the journey, so we were fortunate in that regard.
In other “news,” my housekeeper, Jane, has decided to pursue other opportunities. I wish her well in those endeavors. So, now I have a new employee:
I’ve been impressed by her performance thus far. Here’s how she rearranged the clutter that used to occupy the top of my bedroom dresser:
So it rained almost all afternoon, but like magic, it let up at beer o’clock, and we made it into town without using our umbrellas.
It wasn’t long after we arrived that the latest deluge commenced:
We finished the evening at Rum Jungle and Wet Spot. And another wet day came to an end.
Oh, and I may have been a tad overoptimistic about how San Miguel XL would help me sleep through the night.
Sad news from Dumaguete:
In the September 2021 LTG archives, I recount a couple more occasions where I invited women to join my “friends with benefits” program. Honestly, looking back on those days now, I feel embarrassed by my behavior. But as I explain in the post, it was a defensive mechanism to the almost constant onslaught of money requests from women in need. So, my rationale was that both of us have needs; let’s make a mutually beneficial arrangement. I did come to find these kinds of transactional relationships to be unfulfilling, and I’m not proud of that phase I went through. Still, it’s part of The Story of My Life”, good and bad.
Today’s YouTube video is from an expat vlogger talking about his experience with this unprecedented rainy season. I’ve been here going on nine years now, and it is the worst I’ve seen. These past couple of days have been more “normal”–still lots of hard rain showers, but with periodic breaks in the storm. At least that way the flooding is greatly reduced.
How about these:
And now I’ve gone and done it once again. Time to get out and make the best of whatever time I have left. Thanks for reading as I make my way through this journey of life.