So, Marissa prevailed upon me to visit Alley Cats bar with her. It was the first time I’d been there in over a week after having been an almost daily regular. Felt a little strange being back to be honest. The Wednesday night dart tournament was in full swing and the place was packed. Lots of folks gave me a warm greeting and a welcome back, so I guess that was nice.

One thing that had changed since my departure is that the bar now features a designated smoking area. Alley Cats was one of the few places that still allowed smoking in the bar–in violation of a nationwide executive order and an Olongapo city ordinance. Apparently someone dropped a dime and reported the bar to the Barangay office and they sent an investigator out who ordered that the bar establish a proper smoking area in compliance with the law. So a storage closet was converted for that purpose. I’m not a smoker but I was never bothered by the folks who did smoke in the bar. The only person I ever did hear complain was Alan, so he was the prime suspect in ratting out the bar.

I don’t rag on my fellow expats much and never had any real problems with Alan, he was just one of those people I instinctively didn’t care for. A retired New Yorker with a whiny little bitch attitude. A good dart thrower but a bit of a dick when he plays. The last time I played against him he needed one bulls eye to win the game but kept throwing for points instead. They have a name for people like that, the most polite being “loser”. Like I told my partner at the time “as long as he keeps throwing points instead of the winning dart, we are still in the game”. And sure enough we managed to come back from a huge deficit and beat him. It was sweet, but I bit my tongue and didn’t say anything, better for me if he keeps playing stupid darts.

Anyway, last night he was sitting at the table opposite of mine waiting for his next match in the dart tourney. And as I was enjoying some vaping he said something along the lines of “I thought we got rid of the smokers in here”. I gave my standard response of “it’s not smoke, it’s vapor” and he came back with something idiotic like “it’s the same thing”. And for whatever reason I lost it. Yeah, I was drunk, but I’m normally a friendly drunk. I said something like “you know what, fuck you if you don’t like it. I don’t want you to talk to me again”. His comeback was “don’t worry, I won’t”. I distinctly remember putting my hands together, looking up at the ceiling, and saying “thank you God for small mercies”. Then I went back to vigorously puffing on my vape pen. I guess I used my big voice in the above exchange because I noticed even the dart players had paused their game to watch.

I ignored Alan after that. A couple of folks expressed appreciation for my having called out the prick but I wasn’t particularly proud of the way I handled it. A few minutes later Alan quit midway through the tournament (a dick move screwing over his partner) and left the bar. Told you he was a punk! Later the bar owner came over and said he had complained to her about my vaping. She had pulled up the smoking ordinance on her phone and showed me that it specifically excludes electronic cigarettes. Her attitude was if Alan doesn’t like it he is welcome to not come back. Marissa told me later that Alan is not popular with the girls because he is a cheap charlie, never buys a lady drink and usually just drinks water himself. I’m pretty sure I used to spend more in a night than he does in a week so I should win the most valuable customer prize, at least between us two. Oh well, like I say, it is not a good thing to lose your temper that way. Things can escalate in a hurry and someone winds up hurt or in jail or both. Just not worth it. I need to channel my inner Bruce Lee:

After all the excitement I wound up staying for a couple of more beers. When I was ready to leave Marissa came outside with me. I tried to call a trike for her but she took my hand and said she was going to get me home safe. So off we went, my ability to resist was nil. When we arrived at the house, my helper Tere did her usual disappearing act, hustling up the stairs to her room. Her friend Gina who is visiting didn’t run away which made Marissa happy. In fact, we all grabbed beers from the fridge and sat on the back patio drinking and talking. It was actually quite pleasant.

When it was time for bed Marissa of course joined me. We had passionate sex and then slipped into a drunken slumber. I was up for the 6 a.m. sunrise as usual and she came downstairs maybe an hour later. We walked to Harley’s for breakfast and then I put her in a trike and sent her on home. I got a message later thanking me again for the money. She had paid her rent and sent some to her sister in Manila, telling her sister it was “from her ex”. So, we seem to both be clear on our relationship status. And that’s for the best.

Sorry, if the conclusion to this post proved to be anti-climatic. But that was more than enough drama for me, thank you very much!

Yesterday I had a shopping trip to San Fernando.

With traffic and road construction it’s about 1.5 hours each way. But I needed to order some custom-sized window blinds and they had a store there that I couldn’t find in Olongapo.

Words of wisdom were on sale but I took a photo and saved the money.
“Don’t spend your life with someone you can live with. Spend your life with someone you can’t live without”
Hmm. You talking to me?

Had to hurry back home for my “date night” with the Treasure Island gals. In fact, my driver just waited while I showered and dressed. Then we picked them up and headed out to the old Navy base for dinner.

My company for the evening (L-R) Ru Ru, Kat, Gwapo John, and Jessa.

We dined at Texas Joe’s, the best American style BBQ joint I’ve found thus far.

I had the ribs and chicken combo. Honestly, the ribs couldn’t hold a candle to the ones I enjoyed at Mango’s the other day. Ah, but the beans and cole slaw were outstanding!

As was the company….

After dinner, we went to the movies and saw “Johnny English”. I found it funny enough but the girls were cackling with laughter throughout. Much better than our last movie experience for sure.

Then we went to the Pier 1, an outdoor nightspot on base. Live music from a couple of decent bands. The bar service was really slow, but otherwise it was a pleasant way to cap off the evening. Got home after 11 p.m. which is late for me. Had my driver drop me off first and the gals all wanted to come in and see my place. So they did that, used the bathroom, and then headed on out to their destination.

It was a good night. The only one of the gals I’m really interested in is Jessa, but she has given next to nothing that indicates she has a reciprocal interest. At best I fear I’m stuck in the friend zone. At worst, I’m the financier for a “girls night out”. Oh well, I think if the next date isn’t a solo one, I’ll bow out on paying for it.

Tonight I have a special Hash event–a bar crawl. That’s a first for me with this group and should be a nice change from my solitary drinking routine. You can read about it here tomorrow. Stay tuned!

I’m walkin’ down that long, lonesome road, babe
Where I’m bound, I can’t tell
But goodbye’s too good a word, gal
So I’ll just say fare thee well
I ain’t sayin’ you treated me unkind
You could have done better but I don’t mind
You just kinda wasted my precious time
But don’t think twice, it’s all right