Experimenting a little with the phone camera yesterday afternoon. I have the Samsung A50 which purportedly has a quality camera. So, it must be me. Scott’s photos always seem to come out crisper and clearer than mine though. He made an adjustment to the pixel count or something on my phone (it’s all Greek to me) and he says it makes it easier when he manipulates my photos for the Hash Facebook page.
Anyway, yesterday I took these two photos back-to-back:
I took this one with the camera held horizontally and with the “best shot” icon lit.This one with the camera held vertically and also centered on the “best shot”.
My Facebook commenters preferred the first photo. It still looks fuzzy to me somehow. Or maybe I have a problem with my eyes. Oh well.
Nothing else worthy of note since then, beers and dinner at Mango’s then home for a smoothie. As usual, in bed before 9:00. Yeah, yeah, I don’t know how I handle the excitement either.
Here’s the post from yesterday’s hike.
I was somehow drafted to choose a trail, probably because we started out from my house. I opted to do My Bitch with the extra loop/hill that we did when I last was the Hare. Scott wasn’t able to make it so I apologize in advance for the poor quality of the photos today.
Five of us all told for our pleasant Friday hike under overcast skies. L-R are Jim, Dan Troy, and Simon.Onward we march.Passing through a small village on our way to the second climb.“To the right, guys!” Is something you shout when you are leading from behind.The second hill climb of the morning.I called them out for their frequent rest breaks. They claimed to be waiting for the old, slow guy. Whoever that was.The thatch grass has continued to ascend to new heights. Made some of the trail hard to hike.The obligatory shot of Easter mountain.A snake in the grass. Oh wait, that’s Jim. Never mind.Some people look down on Barrio Barretto. Yesterday I was one of them.I was trying to get a shot of a butterfly on one of these flowers but he flitted off before I could push the button. Use your imagination.
Made it back down without incident and headed to Cheap Charlies for some liquid refreshment.
My Lovely waitress delivering my first beer of the day. I’m not exaggerating either. Her name IS Lovely.Heidi however is the one I crave. To no avail thus far.
And that’s how my Friday went down. Gonna do some darts this afternoon so I best get to practicing.
The government powers that be, at least for the moment, have lifted their heavy boot from the throat of us oppressed citizens. Well, in my case, expat on a tourist visa. The bars are open again and in exchange for wearing masks, shields, and keeping our distance, we are allowed to stay out until 9 p.m. every night. I have adjusted my lifestyle accordingly and I’m making do with the way things are for the most part.
One thing I can’t get used to is the inability to conveniently travel. Oh, I could jump through the hoops required to board an international flight back home to the USA, but why would I want to go there? And if I did I wouldn’t be allowed back in the Philippines until some unspecified date in the future when the travel ban is lifted. Worse yet, I can’t travel much within-country either. Well, I can if I’m willing to be quarantined for 14 days at my destination. No thank you!
One aspect of my retired life planning was reasonably frequent excursions both domestic and abroad. Since arriving here over two years ago I’ve only managed Palawan, Baguio, and Manila. I’ve been itching to get out to Bohol and even have an internet friend willing to be my tour guide. But I’m not going to risk getting caught up in the system that’s currently in place. I know one guy who got COVID tested to travel, they said he was positive, and slapped him into a quarantine facility. He was later retested and it turns out he didn’t have the virus after all. Sorry about that, here’s your bill. Yeah, it sounds like a typical government-sponsored scam to me.
As for international travel, some places won’t take me or have onerous entrance requirements that would take the fun out of travel and empty my wallet. I’ve got a friend currently stuck in Cambodia, a country I enjoy and would like to see more of, and he says life is about as normal as it gets there. Of course, they want to keep it that way so they don’t make it easy for outsiders to visit. Most other potential destinations are also off the table for now at least. Especially since I can’t come back home to the PI.
It’s hard to find a silver lining in this situation, but I’ll try. For example, Kevin Kim is about a third of the way on his hiking trek from Incheon to Busan (you’ve been following along on his blog, right?). Well, last night he got attacked in his motel room. By a gang of hungry mosquitos. Luckily, he was able to kill the bastards (be sure to read how) but not until they had drawn some blood. I get an occasional bite here but I’ve been pleasantly surprised that the mosquitos are not nearly as bad as they were in my previous homes in Korea or South Carolina.
Speaking of mosquitos and Cambodia, maybe I’m lucky I can’t visit there right now. This poor fucker got bit on the leg and look at what happened:
What a nightmare that would be!
I slap on a good coat of mosquito repellant every day after showering. Dengue is pretty prevalent here and I’d like to avoid both that and COVID. But a leg like that would impair both my walkaholic and alcoholic lifestyles. Yikes!
I’ve been accused of talking in my sleep (sometimes in Korean, even though I don’t speak the language much). I’m also a big fan of The Lord of the Rings books. Thankfully, this has never happened:
Open the window and let some mosquitos in. That will shut him up!
No other real news from here. I had a nice hike with my Friday group this morning. I’ll post some of my pictures from that tomorrow. And there is this:
I’ve started doing some darts practice. Well, two days in a row now at least.
I considered playing in the Alley Cats tourney this afternoon. But that 3:00 p.m. start time is just not to my liking. I’ll give it a go tomorrow though.
“Always and never are two words you should always remember never to use.”
I’m always careful to never do that.
All is well (as far as I know) in my little piece of the world. And I’ve got pictures to prove it! Where to start? Let’s go backward in time, shall we?
Another beautiful morning here in Alta Vista.This is the flip side of the shot above–taken while standing in front of Easter mountain looking back towards Alta Vista.Blooming vines.What should I cook for Thanksgiving dinner this year?This is a neighborhood dog I call Brownie. He used to have a thick coat of brown hair. Now he’s got the mange and looks like a skeleton. I noticed this morning that he appears to be blind in one eye now as well. I don’t think he is long for this world but at least that will end his suffering.Budai came to visit again so I gave her some dry dog food. I believe she has the same owner as Brownie above. She doesn’t appear to have the mange (yet) which is a good thing since she loves to roughhouse with Buddy and Lucky. There’s not much more I can do for her either. You can’t save them all.My pot roast dinner from last night. Had it for breakfast this morning too. It came out really tender and tasty. Definitely the best beef roast I have found in the Philippines. Next time I might see about trimming off some of the fat, but then again, that might have contributed to the flavor. It wasn’t hard to eat around the fatty parts and the dogs loved the leftovers.My beer drinking routine was stymied because the outside patio seats at Mango’s were all occupied. So much for reserving my stool! Ah well, I never expected them to turn away a customer in my absence anyway. Besides, it gave me an excuse to go next door to Palm Tree. It has the same view and it’s enhanced by the second-floor vantage point.One of my neighbors was having a beer there too so we had a nice chat. He’s from the UK but wanted to talk about American politics. At least he’s a Trump supporter. A bit later, Nikole (my masseuse) came in with some friends. It was a little strange because I had been ignoring her messages asking me to help because her house was being torn down and she needed a place to live. I asked her what happened and she said she’s staying with a cousin. Glad it worked out for her. There’s a fine line between being generous with someone truly in need and being a sucker. It’s like I used to tell the gals I met on the internet who would besiege me with tales of some emergency or another: “Oh my! What would you do if you didn’t know me? Do that!” Then I’d block them. I consider Nikole an employee and if she doesn’t knock off the money requests she will soon be an ex-employee.So, I guess that takes us back to yesterday’s beach walk. We did a 9K round trip to the lighthouse just outside the old Navy base and back.Five of us all told, Jim, Troy, Dan, Scott, and yours truly.You might say the tables were turned as we agreed on the beach route so as to avoid a mountain. It was a nice change of pace.Which is not say there weren’t any challenges along the way. Climbing over these big ass boulders was harder than it looks. At low tide, you can pretty much walk around them. Not so yesterday.But we all made it across safely and even kept our feet dry.Oh yeah, there was a seawall to climb too.High tide can be destructive.Talk about living on the edge! No way I’m using that toilet, it would scare the shit out of me!I hope that cargo is to resupply the Royal supermarket. Please!We passed through a little village named Bantalayan that I sometimes fantasize about moving to. I can see the lights at night from my perch at Mango’s. It even has a bar, although I’m not sure it is still open. Hmm, maybe an opportunity for me to do something productive with my life. Nah, probably not.Lady Madonna.Some more of the Bantalayan locals. Hey, where did you get those cookies? Oh, never mind. Even saw a place for rent! I’d probably be the only white guy in town, That may not be a good thing though.Troy leading the way…Scott and Jim bringing up the rear.Our destination is in sight!The faux lighthouse on the old Navy base. Some fishermen in the foreground.A quick walk out to the end of the jetty before heading back.The natives are resting.Beachside living at its not so finest. Hey, wait up guys. I’ve been taking pictures!One of the “rooms” at the Samba beach resort. Actually, I could spend a night in one of these. With the right girl of course!Scott and I decided not to climb the rock formations again, so took the highway back into Barretto. That’s always a thrill!This turned out to be a long post, didn’t it?
Anyway, we decided to do our after hike beers at Dive In, a bar I very rarely frequent. And wouldn’t you know it, Jessa showed up to work. Haven’t seen or heard from her since our “breakup” a few months back. She wasn’t rude but wasn’t friendly either. Go figure. We finished our hike with lunch at Sit-n-Bull. It was a good day.
We are surrounded by blessings. Take some time to count them once in a while.
Tuesday is shopping day so I give myself a break from the long walks. As usual, I was disappointed that Royal still is out of quite a few items I want, especially in the frozen food section. I suspect that a combination of COVID-related shipping issues and general incompetence is to blame. Such is life.
Here’s something I wasn’t expecting to see in the dental hygiene section. Well, being out of the shit I need seems to be the new normal.
I did receive another meat delivery yesterday from the woman who sold me those tasty ribeyes last time. This go-round I requested a beef roast and some short ribs.
I didn’t quite think the roast was going to look like this or be so large…This morning I cut it in half…Threw one part into the crockpot with some veggies and seasonings. Will report on how it turns out tomorrow.
What else? Well, it was sad to hear Eddie Van Halen passed away. I wasn’t a big fan (never bought one of his albums) but didn’t mind hearing his rock and roll on the radio. He was 65 years old, the same as me. And when people die at such a tender age it sure does make mortality loom larger in your thoughts. All the more reason to live large and happy while you can.
Rest in Peace young man.
Life goes on for the rest of us. Beers at Cheap Charlies last night. Across the street from where I was seated, I could see my friend “mama” settling in for the night.
Her life is undeniably hard and yet she is one of the most cheerful people you could ever hope to meet. I wonder what Confucious would have to say about that?Oh, well never mind then.
That’s it for today. I’ll post about my beach walk tomorrow. And my pot roast!
Yesterday’s Hash turned out to be a relatively pleasant hike, especially when you consider what usually lies in store for you when Guenter (Vienna Sausage) is the Hare. But this time one of the assigned Hares was tasked with doing an “easy” trail for those of us who prefer not to risk life and limb. Bum Burgler did a long (around 7K) but mostly flat trail on which the biggest hazard was muddy feet from walking across two rice paddies. I’ll take it.
Pubic Head and I actually walked to the starting point rather than riding in the Hashmobile. So that added a couple more Ks to the mix. We ran into Leech My Nuggets who was also walking to the start along the way. When we reached the beginning of the trail, Leech took off to get a head start on the difficult course. The two trails reconnected near the end of the hike and Leech passed me on his way to the On-Home. I asked him how he liked the hard trail and he shook his head and said he wouldn’t be surprised if someone wound up injured. Damn, coming from Leech who I reckon does the second hardest trails in our kennel that’s really saying something. Of course, I learned my lesson long ago and won’t even consider doing a Guenter trail again. I hope none of my fellow Hashers wind up learning that the hard way.
As it turned out, out of 20+ hashers, only four took the hard trail. I guess you might say people voted with their feet yesterday. Good for them. The three other than Leech didn’t get back to the On-Home until almost an hour after everyone else. But they all made it safely, so that’s the good news.
Let’s go to the photos, which are of course featuring the easy trail:
The path I took leaving Alta Vista on my way to the starting point.Some kids I encountered loving that muddy river waterWe had about a 15 minute wait for the Hashmobile to arrive.Everybody out!On-On!Here I am marching along……and enjoying the view in front of me.So far, so good.An easily forded creek.About 2K into the hike, we came to this junction. Only four brave souls chose to turn left. Godspeed and good luck!All I really missed out on was a hellacious mountain climb (the yellow loop at the top).Hey, Kevin Kim, here’s a Filipino-style shwimteo for you!We had some forest……and a lot of rice!Pretty easy going though for the most part……even the cows left us alone.Well, there was one spot where we momentarily lost the trail. But we found our way again.The Gods of Easter mountain were keeping their eyes on us…More rice… …and with rice comes mud.One last paddy to cross.
Then it was on up one small hill and into Alta Vista then on to Queen Victoria for the Hash festivities.
Where we initiated two new virgins…And awarded Pubic Head the Hashshit…
At the conclusion of the Hash, I staggered meandered across the street to Mango’s and put something in my belly besides beer:
I guess you could say these are my salad days. Roast chicken salad with ranch dressing to be precise.I was checking out this gal on the beach. And then my waiter matter-of-factly stated: “her penis is bigger than mine.”And so ended another day in paradise. Such as it is.
Thanks for coming along!
UPDATE: Damn it! I really try not to use the same title for a post more than once. I usually check before starting a new post but got lazy today. Now I see that I used “between a rock and hard place” back in August 2015. Ah well, if I didn’t remember probably no one else does either.
It’s Hash Monday once again, so that means an early post here before I hit the road. They are trucking the Hashers out to the start point today but I’m going to hike it. Should take about 45 minutes or so. Guenter (Vienna Sausage) is the Hare today so I won’t be doing his trail. In something of a first, Dan (Bum Burgler) will be Haring an easier (flatter) trail for us old lazy bastards. I hope this will become a new norm at the Hash. We’ll see.
Changed things up a bit last night by drinking my beers at Cheap Charlies. I also had the pleasure of being joined by Heidi, who runs the place, for a nice chat. I’ve been jonesing for her these past two years but the attraction seems to be a one-way street. Well, she did accept my Facebook friend request so I’ll call that progress.
I decided to visit Sit-n-Bull for my dinner meal. Consistently the best food around overall and less expensive than the hotel restaurants (like Mango’s) too. On the daily specials menu, the BBQ rib dinner caught my attention right away. A full rack with two sides for 600 pesos ($12). I know that is cheap in comparison to back home but it is pretty pricey for these parts. I ordered it anyway and quite enjoyed the meal.
I got the best coleslaw in town and baked beans as my sides. The ribs were oh so very tender. I wish I could get mine to come out that way. Although the ribs I buy are much larger and thicker.
And now it is Monday morning. Here’s how my day started:
The view from my bedroom balcony at 0530.
And that got me thinking of the beauty I see every day around my house but tend to take for granted. Here are some photos from my yard:
Potted plants.Flowering vines that I think are edible.Another flowering plant that I believe the locals eat.Now, these were grown from seeds and have a long hanging fruit-like thing that is regularly harvested for a Filipino-style meal.This is a pepper bush. All the ripe red ones have already been plucked.This tree-like thing is growing out in the back. They get very tall and big.
Anyway, I posted those photos on Facebook, and ex-wife #3 commented “OMG! You are into gardening?” I responded of course not, my domestic helper is doing all the work. She answered, “okay, because I was worried about the temperature in hell!” Heh.
Actually, back in the days when I was living a domesticated suburban life, I kept the yard up. Mowing and edging and the like. I just wasn’t in to planting things much. But no, I don’t miss my lawnmower one bit.
Finally, here’s wishing the President and First Lady a speedy recovery. I’m afraid that what ails many folks back home is not so easily cured.
I honestly pretty much despise O’Reilly but he’s right about this.
I was going to call this post “practice makes perfect” but I used that title last year. I know I recently said I was going to rededicate myself to darts practice and try to reclaim some of the skills I once had achieved back in my glory days. Such as they were. Alas, thus far I haven’t found the motivation to carve out an hour each day for this worthwhile activity. I mean, what am I suppose to do, give up my naptime? No way!
Since I like spending time in bars you’d think I could just spend some time in one of the venues with dartboards. I’ve considered that and still might try that option. One issue I have is that the Alley Cats tourneys are starting at 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. That’s just a bit too early in the afternoon for me, especially on the days I do the group walks. I played yesterday though for the first time in two weeks.
If it is true that practice makes perfect then maybe it should also be said that sometimes “good enough” will suffice. It did in yesterday’s tournament at least as my partner and I achieved a first-place finish. I was pleased that despite my lack of practice I threw quite well overall and hit most of the out shots during the matches. We got knocked into the losers bracket in the first round but fought our way back to reach the finals where we defeated the team we first lost against twice to take home the money. That’s always especially satisfying.
The champs! I like that better than being the chump. And in a weird kind of way, playing well might prove to be a better motivator to practice than throwing badly. We’ll see.
After the tourney, I crossed the highway to take my reserved seat at Mango’s. Ordered up some chicken fingers to satisfy my hunger pangs. Then I had some eye candy for dessert:
I think I’m in love.
I started today off with a hearty breakfast:
Steak and eggs.
Speaking of striving for perfection, or at least showing improvement, I tried to incorporate the searing technique commenter Kevin Kim mentioned the last time I posted steak photos. So, I fired up the grill and let it run full blast for a few minutes before plopping on the steaks, then turning them over a minute of so later.
I may actually try and get the grill even hotter before starting next time, but this result was better than the last. Nice and pink inside. I hope the next batch I order is a little thicker.
Nothing to do after a breakfast like that than to take a nice long walk. I did My Bitch from end-to-end today. Someone has blocked up the entrance from Alta Vista by cutting down trees to make the trail inaccessable which really pisses me off. I was able to work my way around the obstructions with some difficulty but a fence is also under construction. Going to have to explore a new access point.
Otherwise it was a pretty nice hike.Sunny skies and nice views.I was just on this hike two or three weeks ago, but now the thatch grass made for tough going in places. I’m on the trail here, not that you can see it.Finished up on Rizal Extension then made the long walk back home on the highway.
So, it is not a perfect life I am living, but I reckon it’s good enough.
I think it is fair to say I’m doing well. *ahem*
And mamas, don’t let you kids grow up to be reporters:
I hope you enjoyed this post. It’s not like they grow on trees you know.
This post is much more substantial than what you normally find here.
I got the results back from the lab after my medical checkup. Woo Hoo, no COVID! I’m home free now!
It’s all about priorities.
It occurs to me I haven’t posted a picture of the dogs for quite some time.
I’m not sure what they are talking about, but Lucky seems to be finding it of interest.
Speaking of dogs, this one hangs out on the beach in front of Mango’s:
I eat there a couple of times a week. Gave this guy scraps once and now he sits there staring at me every night while I’m drinking my beer.
And there is a dog here in my neighborhood that has apparently adopted me. She can tell time pretty well because every morning when I do my dog walk she’s waiting outside the door for me. Accompanies me for the entire thirty-minute walk and I give her a dog treat when we finish.
Her name is Budai and she belongs to one of the subdivision maintenance workers. Heh, I just noticed that Buddy photobombed me…
Nothing special about my evening yesterday, unless this counts as special:
Always something a little different.
Okay, let’s do the Friday hike, shall we? We had a good turnout with seven brave souls ready to get out into the wild and enjoy the beauty that surrounds the abundant poverty. As usual, I’ll let the photos do most of my talking:
The start of a long and moderately difficult climb.Part way up this woman who had been washing clothes by hand called out “I remember you!” I was thinking, damn, I must really be handsome. Then she mentioned candy. Oh, that. I told her I didn’t have candy today but gave her a bag of cookies. She seemed pleased.I was hard up and desperate to get to the top.And eventually, we did get there.Six of the intrepid hikers. L-R: Jim, Troy, Dan, Scott, Steve, and Simon.Oh, and here’s that seventh guy I mentioned.A path in the woods…A guy-wire crossed the trail. I’m not sure if you can see it, but someone who didn’t duck (not in our group) left an impressive amount of hair behind…This bridge seemed to be saying ” how’s the diet going, John?”Well, at least they have a roof over their head…Onward!Keep on keepin’ on!Rest stop.Encountered a group of wild Pinoy teenagers. No idea what they were up to out here. Ask me again in 9 months or so…They have everything they need. Except cookies!Okay, time to head back down. Steep and slippery was the order of the day…They saw me coming. Thank goodness I had some goodies left.Bottomed out on flat land.As is our custom, lunch and beers at Cheap Charlies after the hike. No, the gals weren’t on the menu.As usual, Scott is to be credited with taking most of these photos. But not this one.Overall, it was a good trail.
And there you have it, another day in the life. Thanks for stopping by.
One of the changes brought about by my COVID-era lifestyle is that I’m sleeping better. Hell, I’m a regular 9 to 5 guy these days. My sleep score, as measured by Fitbit, is in the mid-80s as opposed to the 60s pre-COVID. One aspect of that higher score is an increase in the amount of REM sleep I’m getting. I had an hour and a half of that last night and with it came some intense dreams.
Don’t worry I’m not going recount the dream here and talk about possible hidden meanings. Much. Suffice to say it was work-related and I was a human resources hero doing some really important shit. Even got to fuck with China! I’d wake up to pee, go back to sleep, and the dream continued from where we’d left off. It was a long night’s work!
And I guess that’s the thing I was left with upon waking this morning. I miss the meaning and purpose that my working life provided. That’s probably pretty common, but damn, it’s been two and a half years since I last worked for pay. This makes me wonder if the life I’m currently living is so devoid of fulfillment that my poor subconscious has to pretend I’m working again. On the other hand, maybe the whole purpose of retired life is to step away from the stress and pressure that comes with working and to live a simple life doing the things you enjoy.
Well, I honestly do enjoy my hikes. Especially the ones with my various walking groups on M-W-F. Y’all have seen the pictures, what’s not to like? My social life of late is mostly me and a bottle of beer but I’m invariably joined by the setting sun.
Last night’s company.
And yes, I do hang out with people some too. I don’t feel particularly close to anyone in my life, but then, that’s not really different than it’s ever been. My life is what it is and I’m glad to have it. Work and love are both four-letter words and they are both a part of my past. Hey, past has four letters too!
Pretty much.
A good long walk today and I’ll post about that tomorrow. I did spend some time under this tree waiting for the other guys at our meet-up spot:
As lovely as a poem.
Anyway, time waits for no man. And Tom Waits hates bad writing.
Sorry for any pain I’ve inadvertently caused you, Tom.
That’s it for now. I hear Trump has the COVID virus and I wish him well. I honestly believe if Biden were somehow to ascend to the throne it would be the end of America as we know it. And not in a good way.
Every time when I look in the mirror All these lines on my face getting clearer The past is gone It went by, like dusk to dawn Isn’t that the way Everybody’s got the dues in life to pay
I know nobody knows Where it comes and where it goes I know it’s everybody sin You got to lose to know how to win
Half my life Is books, written pages Live and learn from fools and From sages You know it’s true, oh All the things come back to you
Sing with me, sing for the year Sing for the laughter, sing for the tear Sing with me, if it’s just for today Maybe tomorrow, the good Lord will take you away
Dream on Dream on Dream on Dream until your dreams come true
Nothing more exciting for me today than a haircut. But yesterday I went to Morocco. Club Morocco that is.
Only four of us for the Wednesday walking group so we drove the 12K out to Subic town’s barangay Cawag and commenced a 9K hike near the Keppel shipyard. Here, let me show you: (by the way, most of these photos are from Scott’s steady camera hand)
Walk this way!As we exited the vehicle, this guy was snoozing on the bench at a Jeepney stop. 2 hours later when we returned he was still asleep. What else is there to do I guess…And we are off!We very rarely come out this way to hike. I’ve seen the shipyard from a distance before, but never so close I could hear them at work.Dan, Steve, and Scott are taking in the view. I’m taking the picture.Forward march!The country of not quite right…I’m always a little taken aback when we come across an obscure village out in the middle of nowhere. As is almost always the case, the natives were friendly…And they liked getting cookies!And I enjoy giving them out…It looks like a hard life to me but I guess it just seems normal to the folks born and raised there.And then like magic, we were walking on pavement again…It was all eerily familiar. I had been to Club Morocco once before back in 2017 when I was looking at housing options post-retirement. Found an amazing place, but it was just too far away from convenient access to the bars and shopping. ...but there was something else about the place. Later I learned it was developed by the same company that did my subdivision. It definitely had that Alta Vista vibe going.Let’s hit the beach. Damn, look at that beer belly!Okay, that’s a better angle.The tide had washed all kinds of trash up on the beach. Really hate seeing this. Littering is something about this culture I just don’t get.We came upon a small fishing village further up the beach.Although all the boats seemed to be docked.You can be both poor and happy. That is one of the things I admire about this culture.Making do with what you’ve got.Grandmas like cookies too.High water…Jesus would love this trail!Us mere mortals got wet feet.Views like this made it worthwhile.Heading back home…Sorry for the long post.
It was a good day to discover new places. And that’s about as good as it gets around here.
I’m sure it comes as no surprise to my faithful readers that Mango’s beach bar is my favorite place to hang out and enjoy a cold beer after a hard day of being retired. And now I have achieved the coveted status of “regular”. How do I know this? Well, I’m Facebook friends with the manager (a woman I’d love to get to know better), the bartender, and the waitress. They always seem happy to see me, almost like family.
And of course, every day I get to enjoy views like this one.
Anyway, I popped into Mango’s for a quick one after Monday’s Hash. The place was packed which is very unusual given the current COVID situation. I was disappointed to see my favorite seat on the outside patio was occupied. Oh, well. I shrugged and told the bartender and manager I’d come back another time. So I went next door to Palm Tree and had a perfectly acceptable evening with the same view.
Then yesterday at about my regular beer drinking time of 5 p.m. I get a message from Mango’s bartender: “your seat is ready and waiting for you, Sir John.”
Well, I’ll be damned. Being a regular does have its privileges.
They have even stocked my beer of choice, San Miguel Zero. I need to lose this beer belly after all. Anyway, it is nice to have found my new bar home, a feeling I haven’t enjoyed since those Itaewon days at Shenanigans.
It’s somewhat odd but these days I’ve found that I do not like drinking inside. I was never much for the girly bars anyway, but even a place like the dart bar, Alley Cats, seems cramped and depressing. I just like to sip my beer and watch the world go by nowadays. Maybe that is a vestige of being a grouchy old man. I don’t know about that, but I know what I like.
Like anywhere I suppose, there are good days and bad days. Yesterday’s beach view was not nearly as pleasant as normal.
So, I thought I heard a Scottish accent. Are you gals from Scotland I asked? They rudely answered NO, WALES! So then I said “fine, are you whales from Scotland?”
Yeah, it’s an old joke but seeing these ladies made me think of it last night. And to be clear, I have no issue with fat girls enjoying beach time. Just very unusual to see around here, that’s all.
Here’s an update on the situation with my married neighbor, “Judy” I wrote about here. Taking the advice of my readers to heart, I’ve pulled way back and taken a wait and see attitude. If and when she is a free woman I’ll consider giving her a go to see what happens. I mean, it’s not like I’m going anywhere or actively looking for love or anything. Judy has continued to message me a lot and I give short, almost non-responsive, answers–i.e., I ignored her “I love you” entreaties. I guess she didn’t like my new approach much. I received this message from her this morning (I’m posting it verbatim. This is what passes as decent English in these parts. Still, it is better than my Tagalog):
Jonh,sorry for everything if what ive done to you,for all the thing that i hurt YOU,im so sorry,but i wanna say thank you so much for your care suport àttention and everything,i feels like i fource you,ok jonh i just ganna let you go but what ever happened in my life im so thankfull that i have you in my life even in a short while thank you jonh,i appriciated everything your goodness and kindness for me,mybe this is my life that i need to be alone thanks jonh very very much.i love you, babye,always be take care your self,dont for get that okbye expect that i dont send you a messages anymore,thank you and GOD BLESS YOU.
You know, I feel like she is a good woman trapped in a horrible situation. Still, it is one of her own making. Or maybe she really does love the loser she married. Not my problem though and this is one time I’m glad I wasn’t stupid enough to get sucked into all the drama. I responded with a good luck and wish you well message and haven’t heard from her since.
Meanwhile, Facebook shared a memory with me from 8 years ago:
That’s me and my current wife at the East Sea. I captioned the photo back then “when you find the right one, don’t let her get away”. Of course, she did get away and changed my life forever in the process.
This morning I cooked up a batch of chili con carne. Although it turns out the carne was pork. I saw ground meat in the fridge and went to work. When my helper came downstairs she told me it wasn’t ground beef. Oh well, it worked. Not my favorite though.
The cornbread is excellent though. Thank you, Marie Callender!
A very pleasant hike with my Wednesday mates today. I’ll post about that tomorrow. And don’t forget to check in on Kevin Kim’s marathon walk to Busan. He’s on Day 3 already and posting some great photos from the journey.
Grocery shopping day and as usual, a mixed bag Royal. Coke Zero finally in stock, but none available in the 24 pack case. So, I pulled two dozen individual cans off the shelf. Pretty much cleaned them out again. Still no frozen fruit, but I did find this long-unseen item:
Yeah, I’m a lazy bastard when it comes to baking, but these are actually really good. Sometimes I add a little honey to the mix to sweeten them up some.
Although I wasn’t able to buy frozen strawberries, I scored some fresh ones from Baguio. Iline has a friend who brings them down once a week. A bit pricey at twenty bucks for two kilos, but what are you gonna do.
Cutting them up and putting them into the freezer. I smell a smoothie in my future!
That pretty much covers today’s “adventure”. Yesterday was Hash day…
…so the remainder of this post will be about that.
We did something a little unusual and not really planned–two separate trails. The Hare’s had some challenging ups and downs in store for the group, but some of us weren’t in the mood for that kind of adventure. What made it unusual was there was about an equal number doing the “old man” hike as there were doing the actual trail. I felt a little bad for the Hare’s who had invested a lot of time and effort in laying out their chosen path but it occurs to me that maybe having a harder and easier trail to choose from might be a good option for our future Hash hikes. For example, Guenter is the Hare next week so I already know I’ll be looking for an alternative. Anyway, it all worked out fine yesterday.
The yellow line is the mountain path chosen by the Hares. The purple is the flat trail some of us preferred. Our trail was longer but easier.Our group met at my house and started from there. I jokingly announced it was the first run of the Alta Vista Hash House Harriers.It was a beautiful day for a hike. On-On!We had a couple of kilometers to cover to reach the official meeting location at APO resort.The official trail had the Hashers being trucked from APO to the start part, After “stealing” a couple of additional folks for our flat trail, we opted to walk the 1K to the trailhead.Here’s where the truck dropped everyone else off. A parting of the ways came next–mountain climbers turned right, flatlanders went straight.Regular readers ought to recognize that mountain which seems to make its way into most of my hiking posts.Why don’t we do it in the road? Four lazy bastards and a covey of women.Through the narrow streets of Calapacuan.Everyone made it safely across this marvel of engineering.I wouldn’t want to drink the water.Enjoying the greenery…Yours truly catching some shade.The final portion of our hike was along the National highway.Leading us to our On-Home destination.Featuring shipyard views……and the Subic Bay.The Hares on ice. My complaint about the trail was that it was “too flat”. *ahem*And this is why you NEVER wear brand new shoes to the Hash!My helper Gina completed her 5th Hash and earned her Hash name. Welcome to the kennel Western Union Sperm Bank!
And that was how the day went down. Well, except for the me getting drunk part. But I don’t remember much about that. I’m pretty sure I had a good time though.
Yep, it’s that time of year (decade?) here in the Philippines. And when they do a census, they do it old school. I’m talking about going house-to-house and knocking on doors. And once they’ve caught you at home, they slap one of these on your door:
I’m not sure where I fit into their calculations. I mean, I’m a tourist. Or at least that’s what my visa says. When the census taker asked how long I’d be here I responded “until I die”. So, I think he counted me, for whatever that’s worth.
Or maybe this hands-on census thing is just a plot to spread the virus. *cough cough*
Well, it is Hash Monday once again. This week we are being trucked out to the starting point in the Hashmobile, something I really despise. I’m already plotting on bypassing the truck and doing my own trail to the On-Home at Hunter’s Jo Inn. I won’t say shortcut because without the truck ride I’ll be walking further than the 5K trail the Hares (Leech My Nuggets and Blow My Pipe) have laid. I may however choose to forego the mountain climb. We’ll see soon enough I suppose.
As we speak, the installers are here setting up my new fiber-optic internet connection. I’ve been getting by on the cable version but some days it is slower than others. Gets frustrating at times, and I don’t even do much of anything other than surf the net. Hopefully, the promised speed (50 MPS) will be delivered. I’ll believe it when I see it.
Yep, that is one of the things I miss about Korea for sure…Before my install.Fiber optic, baby!
And my new laptop has the power to put all that speed to good use. Sadly, the operator of said computer is incompetent. One bright spot though is I’ve been retraining my hands to hit the right keys on this tiny keyboard. Even been writing this post with only my normal number of typos. Progress!
What else have I got for you this morning? How about a joke?
Two hillbillies walk into a restaurant. While having a bite to eat, they talk about their moonshine operation.
Suddenly, a woman at a nearby table, who is eating a sandwich, begins to cough. After a minute or so, it becomes apparent that she is in real distress.
One of the hillbillies looks at her and says, “Kin ya swallar?’ The woman shakes her head no. Then he asks, ‘Kin ya breathe?” The woman begins to turn blue, and shakes her head no.
The hillbilly walks over to the woman, lifts up her dress, yanks down her drawers, and quickly gives her right butt cheek a lick with his tongue. The woman is so shocked that she has a violent spasm, and the obstruction flies out of her mouth. As she begins to breathe again, the Hillbilly walks slowly back to his table.
His partner says, ‘Ya know, I’d heerd of that there ‘Hind Lick Maneuver’ but I ain’t niver seed nobody do it!’
Okay, it seemed funny at the time. How about this:
Lots of ways to get high I suppose…
Speaking of jokes, nothing beats politics these days.
After having my laptop stolen last year I purchased a replacement at a local store in Olongapo. Techno-peasant that I am, I bought a piece of crap. I was bitching to a techno-savvy friend about all the issues I was having and he came over and had a look. When he pulled up the stats he was surprised that Dell would even market such a worthless conflagration of bits and bytes. He told me his son in Hawaii could order one built to my specs and needs and have it shipped. I was down with that. There were some fits and starts but it finally arrived yesterday.
And here it is.
The laptop is performing well so far, limited only by the degree of suckiness I’m encountering with my internet. I’m supposed to be getting a fiber optic connection “soon”. Well, I’ve paid for it anyway, we’ll see when the provider actually comes through. My only real complaint is that the new laptop is quite a bit smaller than what I am used too. I’ll adapt to it I suppose. The real issue has been the cramped keyboard. My big old clumsy fingers can’t seem to stay on the “home keys” I so diligently learned back in high school typing class. Especially my right hand. Very frustrating when I’m attempting to send a message or comment on a post. In fact, I’m writing this on a plug-in keyboard I bought some time ago. I’m still going to learn to type in my cramped quarters, hopefully soon.
The big news if you haven’t heard yet is that Kevin Kim is setting out on a marathon walk from Incheon to Busan, South Korea. And I’m going with him! Vicariously of course. As much as I enjoy my hikes that kind of distance walking is beyond my capacity for pain tolerance. He’ll be blogging daily about his experience so you can follow along too, here. Good luck, Kevin!
I’ve been a lazy bastard again today. Got my morning 10,000 steps in but haven’t done shit since. Well, I did get a nice massage from Nikole, bless her heart. She even took a shower with me before we started. And she really does a very nice, legitimate, massage. She’s also happy to make sure you’re happy at the conclusion.
I do have a crockpot full of meatballs stewing away in the kitchen.
That’s a lot of meatballs. I figured I might have overdone it when I found it necessary to add a THIRD jar of sauce to cover them all adequately.
I had intended to bake a cake as well. However, when I pulled the box of cake mix off the shelf I noticed some ants crawling about. Well, no big deal, the box was still sealed. Except when I opened the box, the ants were inside there too. How does that happen? But the real surprise was when I took a closer look at the mix ingredients still inside the inner plastic bag, I could see the little buggers swimming around in the powder. Nope, I like my cake meatless, thank you very much! Into the trash it went. Now, I will confess that the cake mix had been on my shelf for a few months, so my bad. Still impressed with the creativity and engineering skills of that breed of ant.
So I baked up a batch of brownies instead. And overcooked them. Just not my day for baked goods I guess.
After my pal Jim helped me set up the new computer, we headed out to Mangos for dinner and beers.
This was our view last night.
Here’s a Facebook fact check I’d like to see:
Of course, it doesn’t really work that way. The “independent” fact-checkers only dispute pro-Trump posts.
Speaking of Facebook, this rings true:
I like to live dangerously, so I posted this on my FB page.
In its own way. Well, that’s what the song says anyway. I’ve seen some fucked up shit in my time that is the opposite of beautiful. But I guess the point is that it matters how you look at the world around you and that outlook determines its relative beauty.
So, welcome to another beautiful rainy afternoon in the Philippines. The weather was kind enough to stay dry until I completed my morning rounds. That and my nap is the sum of all my accomplishments thus far today. But I do have some beautiful photographs from yesterday’s hike to share with you:
Almost 7K. We met up with Scott at the mountain family’s place which is where the hike “officially” started…These four (L-R: Dan, Steve, Troy, and Viola) met me at my house and we hoofed it over to the mountain family via My Bitch.That’s me arriving at the mountain family’s place after a 30 minute trek……and providing some cookies to the matriarch Oliva…Their house may not be the finest around, but I’ve seen worse.And they have a million-dollar view… Marching on.Goat on a stump.Where pond scum comes from…Another mountain…….another mountain family.Nice to meet you!Mama hard at work doing laundry…And more kids around back! Good thing I brought plenty of goodies.Red Horse beer and Emperador Rum. I guess that’s what gets you through the night on a lonely mountaintop.And we were surprised to discover this place next door. That’s the treehouse Troy’s ex-girlfriend built. It is actually really cool but I can’t imagine living a good hard one hour hike from anywhere. And hauling everything you need on your back. The lack of electricity would be a problem for me too…Great views though! Time to head out…Easter mountain from on high…And from the valley floor…On and on and on it goes…That’s the last of my cookies…Finally back in my neighborhood and on my street!Let’s eat!And then my cheap-ass Filipino plastic chair let me down–and not in a good way!
Oh well, at least I didn’t fall on trail. And my new backpack worked out great. Almost no shoulder pain during the hike.
Ain’t life beautiful?
Everything is beautiful in its’ own way Like a starry summer night or a snow covered winter’s day Everybody’s beautiful in their own way Under God’s heaven, the world’s gonna find a way There is none so blind as he who will not see We must not close our minds, we must let our thought be free For every hour that passes by, you know the world gets a little bit older It’s time to realize that beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder
As seen from my front-row seat at Mango’s yesterday.
Well, it is the rainy season after all. And compared to last year it’s been pretty mild. Mostly just afternoon thunderstorms. Like the one that is raging outside my window right now. Into each life some rain must fall I suppose.
Really nothing of significance to report today. Everything is the same around here and my life, imperfect though it may be, is still the best thing that ever happened to me.
I make it a point to only drink on days that end in “Y”.
I did enjoy a nice hike with my Friday walking group this morning. We started and finished here at my house. I provided post-hike cold beer, chips and dip, and chicken nuggets to my tired, thirsty, and hungry guests.
I’ll write more about the hike, with photos, tomorrow. Here’s a post to tide you over until then.
I won’t leave you with nothing of substance today, don’t worry. Here’s an article talking about President Duterte’s ham-fisted efforts to control COVID and in the process destroying the economy. Now there is talk of delaying the 2022 elections and keeping Duterte in power beyond the constitutional term limits. Fun times! I had to laugh at this tweet from the Foreign Secretary expressing his displeasure with the idea:
“You don’t cancel elections for any reason. That’s treason,” the top Filipino diplomat tweeted.
“We are a democracy or a s*** slave colony. Hold elections period. Those brave to stand in line & vote—even if only 12—decide the next President. Elections=democracy or F*** U. You fucking s***,” he added in a less-than-diplomatic, expletive-laden tweet.
Tell us how you really feel! Funny how someone forgot to edit out one of the “fuck” words. Ah well, only in the Philippines. I am a guest in this country so none of it is any of my business, I understand that. But I also can’t close my eyes to the suffering of the Filipino people due to these idiotic policies. I think my neck is permanently damaged from shaking my head in disbelief so frequently.
Ouch! There goes my neck again. Throw people out of their jobs then raise their cost of living. Good plan!
I’ve been hearing from my friend in Cambodia and life there seems so much more, well, normal. Of course, too many hoops for me to jump through to get there now but it remains my Plan B should things go totally to shit here.
Shit not of my own making I mean. I carry that with me wherever I go!
Today’s big idea was to hike to the mall in Olongapo city. I got a couple of kilometers up the highway and thought better of it. For one thing, the traffic was heavy and that is nerve-wracking on those narrow shoulders. But the main thing that changed my mind was my stomach was not quite right. I felt the need to fart but I could tell there was reason to believe things would come out wrong. I shart when that happens.
So, I crossed the highway (I always walk facing traffic) and waited to flag down a Jeepney. And waited. With the new COVID capacity restrictions it seemed the first several that passed were full. I was about to give up when one finally pulled over. I had the required mask and face shield but smiled to myself when I saw the sign that passengers over 60 (and under 20) are not permitted. Well, I’m 55. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. No one asked though.
The Jeep dropped me at the Kalaklan gate to the old Navy base. I walked a click or so from there to the Harbor Point mall, arriving at ten minutes after ten. I was surprised to see people waiting to enter because the posted signage said the mall opens at 10:00. Not today it didn’t. I decided to continue on to the SM mall a bit further down the road. As I passed another entrance to Harbor Point they were just opening the doors for business. So I did the requisite temp check and filled out the contact tracing paperwork to gain access. What a pain in the ass.
Once inside I headed over to the Globe store to find out what was going on with my cellphone bill. I have an unlimited data plan and the cost is usually around 3500 pesos. They used to send me a message telling me when the bill was due and how much I owed. I haven’t heard anything this month, so I checked online. There it said I owed 4700 pesos for the July to August time frame. Bullshit, I paid my bill via credit card on August 25. I wanted to get that straightened out but when I arrived the store was closed for the 24th and 25th for unspecified reasons. Damn. They had a kiosk out front so I logged in and checked my account. It said my next payment wasn’t due until October 25 and that my previous payment was made on September 25. I guess the machine can see into the future or something. I speculate that they are going to automatically bill my credit card for this month’s payment. We’ll see, but at least it isn’t overdue.
It was pretty shocking to see what a ghost town Harbor Point mall has become with very few customers inside and many stores closed down–even McDonald’s was shut. I walked on through and then headed off base to the SM mall. There was a short line to get into the grocery store but I wanted full mall access. I went around to the front and there was a long line to get inside. Hmm, on a hunch I went back to the supermarket side and walked right in without even a temperature check. And yes, I could still get into the mall from there. I chuckled watching the dupes getting the standard temp check and questionnaire routine as I headed up the escalator.
My next stop was the eyeglasses store where I had purchased my frames and lenses. One of the pads that rests on your nose had fallen off and it made them rather uncomfortable to wear. They fixed them promptly and surprisingly told me “no charge”. I bought some lens cleanser spray (buy 1 get 1 free) and it came to 70 pesos. I handed the clerk a 100 and they were having a hard time coming up with the change. So, I grabbed two more bottles of cleanser and gave him 40 more pesos. Win-Win!
Next stop was the SM department store. I was hoping to find a replacement backpack for my hikes. Nothing physically wrong with my old one but it gets uncomfortable when I carry it around for a while. Kind of surprising because I usually only have a couple of bottles of water and cookies or candy inside. Anyway, what I wanted was one that has on the front that strap you can clip across your chest to take some of the weight off your shoulders. And I had the good fortune to find one. Although I had to wait ten minutes or so until someone could find the key to the stockroom. Yeah, I was shaking my head in disbelief thinking “only in the Philippines”.
My new cookie carrier! Ain’t she a beaut? And I didn’t even know it came with that phone/wallet holder thing until I opened it up when I got back home. It also came with a rain cover.The backside. You can see the clip strap on the bottom that will hopefully relieve the shoulder pain I’ve been suffering on trail.
With my purchase in hand and all errands completed, I exited the mall, crossed the street, and made my way down to an open McDonald’s. It has been a LONG time since I’ve had a Quarter Pounder and fries. It will likely be a long time before I do again. Not nearly as good as I remembered. Oh well. I was going to take a taxi home but called my driver to see if he wanted to earn the fare. He did, so I had a comfortable ride home. And thus ended today’s adventure.
But wait, there’s more! I had a hiking adventure yesterday to tell you about. A not too challenging 8K walk from my house to Hunter’s Jo Inn in Calapadayan with the Wednesday walking group. I’ll let the photos do most of the talking:
The group heading out from my house. The Hares for next week, Simon (Leech My Nuggets), and Jim (Blow My Pipe) joined us for part of our hike before leaving the rest of us (Scott, Dan, Troy and me) behind to do some trail scouting.Leaving Alta Vista……And into the great beyond.I’m not ALWAYS the slowest on the trail, but in his defense, Scott was taking some of these photos while we waited.My first cookie recipients of the day…We did a walk around (thankfully not over) Easter mountain.Trading cookies for smiles is a good deal for everyone!The toughest going we faced was this one stretch of little-used trail that was completely overgrown with thatch grass. Pain in the ass that was!It was good to get back on solid ground again.I actually sometimes fantasize about living a simple life out in the wild in one of these. Provided I had power, water, internet, a shower…ah, who am I kidding? Never mind.Spreading cookies and good cheer!Back to civilization. Scott said this area is the poorest in Subic.Some streets were narrow, but the natives were friendly…They got my last bag of cookies for the day.But I still had something left to give to Mother Nature…And that’s how our trail looked from God’s vantage point.
We had a couple of beers at Hunter Jo’s with the owner, Mark. Then he was kind enough to drive us back to the border of Barretto. It was a good day on a good trail!
Later that afternoon I dropped into Cheap Charlies and found myself to be the only customer surrounded by twelve thirsty waitresses. Damn, I actually felt sorry for their boredom and lack of earning potential. I talked to my regular waitress, Lovely, about giving each girl the equivalent of a drink commission (50 pesos). She kind of hesitated and then I asked whether their salary was contingent on meeting a daily drink quota. She nodded and so I bought all the girls a lady drink. I very rarely do that, but I was just in the mood for some reason. A friend of mine is building houses for the needy in Cambodia, I guess the $24.00 I paid was well spent in a small way. After all, I was in a place named after people like me.!
Let me close with just a small dose of politics, but kind of big news in its own way–after all these years I finally found myself agreeing with Hillary Clinton!
I invite Joe Biden to pledge to follow this pathway to putting Barack Obama back in the White House. By pledging, he may improve his chance of getting elected. Who knows? The Ruth Bader Ginsburg Dying Wish must come true. The vacancy on the Supreme Court must remain open. I won’t spend time on that step, because that’s what everyone’s already talking about. So let’s jump forward to the new things:
First, President Joe Biden nominates Vice President Kamala Harris for the Supreme Court. He pledged to pick a black woman. Pledge kept. Now, he has the distinction of choosing not only the first black woman for the Court but also the first Asian person.
The choice would also meet a long-discussed goal of putting someone with political experience on the Court. This is something Bill Clinton wanted to do. In reminiscing — just a few days ago — about his choice of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, he openly talked about his original preference for someone political (specifically Mario Cuomo). Trump has shown the same interest when he put Ted Cruz and Tom Cotton on his Supreme Court list.
When Harris is confirmed, she will resign from the vice presidency, which will give President Biden the power to appoint the new Vice President. He can pick Barack Obama. Then all Biden needs to do is resign. He’s feeling too elderly to serve. Oops! Thought I could do it, but turns out I’m getting weaker by the day. Whatever. Or don’t even surprise us. Tell us now that you’ll follow this path. Then, when you resign, you’ll just be doing what you promised, keeping your pledge.
And don’t tell me Barack Obama is term-limited. As Supreme Court nominees like to say, you read the text and you say what it means, not what you wish it would mean. Here’s the text of the 22nd Amendment: “No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice….” There’s no point in this scheme where Barack Obama is elected to the office of the President more than twice. He’s appointed Vice President, and he assumes the presidency not by another election but by the resignation of President Biden.
Well, I’ve been on record for awhile now that the Dems will find some excuse to replace Biden prior to the actual election. But hey, this might actually work better for them.
I’m glad to be in the Philippines. I like my boring adventures just fine, thank you!
I guess the only thing of interest going on other than my normal walkaholic/alcoholic life would be my budding relationship/romance with a married woman I call “Judy”.
Just a quick recap: I first met Judy several months ago. I had an immediate physical attraction to her and over the course of several in-passing conversations I became enamored with her wit and humor. And that’s all there was to it because I knew she was married and unavailable. Until the day Judy came to visit my helper and told me she wanted to have a talk with me. Turns out, she shared my feelings of attraction and also the understanding that it was an impossible situation. She was having problems with her husband but would not break her wedding vows or her religious convictions to be with another man. Obviously, I had no cause or desire to object to that. One of the issues she was having with her spouse was his refusal to have any involvement with her adult children, including financial support. Her daughter needed some money to continue her college education online and I agreed to help. Judy was of course very grateful, but otherwise that was that.
Until the day she came back to my house and tearfully revealed to me and my helper that her husband had told her he would be leaving her by the end of the year and moving to another country. Judy seemed devastated by the news despite the fact that her husband appears to be a selfish asshole. My advice was circumspect, basically just telling her to look to the future, not the past. That it seemed to me her husband had given her a wonderful gift of freedom to pursue whatever life she desired. We also connected on Messenger and have been chatting frequently ever since.
One of the things we have talked about was how we both wished we had met six years ago. Judy says I am the man she always dreamed of and she would have been much happier with me than her husband. I admitted that I had also considered how my life would have been different if I had moved to the Philippines in 2010 instead of taking the detour of marrying Jee Yeun, I also said that perhaps the fates would provide us our chance to be together sometime in the future. Judy has hinted about having a secret rendevouz but I told her as long as her husband is around it is not worth taking a chance. If he is really going to leave the country in a couple of months it is better for us both to wait. Judy was accepting of taking that approach.
Since that time her messages are full of how much she misses me, wishes she could see me, dreams about me, and on and on. The other day she even invoked the “love” word. Alright, I admit that kind of talk makes me more than a little nervous. It’s too soon for one thing. If and when the time comes when Judy and I can pursue a proper relationship we can discover together how compatible we truly might be as a couple. I mean, we’ve never even kissed. I’ve told her she needs to slow down and take things one day at a time and we will see what the future has in store for us. It doesn’t seem to be working though.
I’ve also got a problem with being someone’s rebound option. I don’t want Judy to think that once her hubby is gone I’ll be there to pick up the pieces. Maybe I will, maybe I won’t. But if we are together it will be because it is the right love at the right time. I’m not a safety net or the next best thing. Given what I know about her husband (admittedly only what she has told me) I’m reasonably sure she would be trading up, as unlikely as that may seem given my own sordid history. Again, who knows and we won’t know until such time as we spend time together and find out. That’s just not possible right now so I need her to focus on the present, not some dreamed of future with me that may never happen anyway.
Another thing that is on my mind is that going into a new relationship immediately may not be in Judy’s own best interests. She told me in one conversation that her parents still live in her province on another island and that she owns land there. Her dream has been to develop the property and live there one day. Judy’s current husband won’t even permit her to visit her parents or her children. I know that sounds outrageous and my thinking when she told me is what kind of person would permit an abusive man to isolate her from family. Sadly, Judy’s personality and religious beliefs have caused her to be subserviant to this guy’s desires. She sees it as her duty to take care of her husband faithfully and without complaint. Yeah, that’s fucked up, and yeah my being in the picture now has created a lot of cognitive disssonace to the depths of her soul. She tells me she cries a lot these days.
Anyway, I am going to hold steady and try to avoid doing anything stupid. I’m content to wait and see how things play out without my getting physically involved. I do have feelings for Judy and I feel like I have some part to play in her future. In my thinking that may very well be helping her return home to her family and living that life. I have no plans to join her there but would be happy for her if that proves to be her best option.
Meanwhile, I’ve got my walks and I’ve got my beer. Not being in a relationship and not worrying about not having one are actually easier done than I ever imagined they would be. I’m going to be just fine on my own. If Judy is truly what she appears to be, perhaps I’ll trust her with my heart one day. Time will tell.
Watching my head, holding my face One more evening gone to waste No longer do I know my place Killing time and missing my cues Watching her belong to you Tears could only change my view
Take the L out of lover and it’s over [
Growing up has always been tough Good intentions never good enough I would take you far away Do anything to make you stay
My lazy Tuesday shopping day. Royal is STILL out of Coke Zero. Three weeks now. I was able to clean out the local 7/11 which will get me through the week, but damn. [My Grammarly app says no comma after week, but I like it that way.]
I’m okay with with the meaning of words, but my grammar and puncuation is subpar. Well, if it weren’t for spell check I’d really be screwed.
After completing my shopping excursion I took an abbreviated nap. Abbreviated because during my slumber the power went out and without a fan blowing on me it didn’t take long to become a sweaty mess. So I decided I may as well take a walk to the vape store on the far side of town. I completed my purchases there, then headed over to Sit-n-Bull for lunch.
The shaved ham sandwich was one of the daily specials. I went with double meat and honey mustard sauce with a side of coleslaw. As usual, it was all quite delicious.
Right about the time I was finishing up my meal a big thunderstorm blew through. Lots of lighting and heavy rain, then the power went out. I sat there for a while waiting for things to calm down, then finally just said fuck it, paid my bill and headed out.
Damn, there was a six-inch deep river flowing where the street used to be. As I was wading my way back to the highway a beggar accosted me for money. I gave him 50 pesos and then he asked for more. WTF? I was not a happy camper to begin with but I let his ingratitude of my generoisty get the better of me. I’m ashamed to admit that I blasted him with some choice curse words. I need to do and be better than that.
So, that’s my day up to this point. Now, about yesterday’s Hash. It was a Günter trail so I was expecting the worst and was prepared to deal with it by shortcutting his trail at the first sign of trouble. The first climb of the day was steep, but not too long. So far, so good. I was on familar terrain and had the new girl Hashers and one other guy with me at the back of the pack. When the trail took a turn down into what appeared to be a creek bed, I said no thanks! The girls were happy to keep it easy, the guy kind of wanted to follow the trail. I told him to go for it, but he didn’t want to do it alone so stayed with us.
My plan at this point was to circle back to the four corners intersection on the My Bitch trail. But before I got to that point I was surprised to see that Günter’s trail was once again crossing our path. It looked sane enough so I opted to follow it and see where it might lead. And it really wasn’t bad at all. Still, when we got back down and his trail began another climb, I wasn’t feeling it. Unfortunately, I no long had a clear idea where I was. I looked for alternatives but finally had to concede that going up as Günter intended was the only option. Again, it wasn’t that bad a climb, and the down, while steep, was manageable. But when he started a THIRD up, I told the group no way I’m doing that. It was vaguely familiar and I knew it was going to suck big time to go that way. I also knew where I needed to go from here (back to my subdivision) but wasn’t exactly clear on how to get there. I led us to one deadend, then retreated and took another path. Eureka! I found the way and we made it back On-Home safely. I’d call that a successful afternoon!
Here’s some pictures from the trail:
The trail as the Hare intended. You can see the Alta Vista subdivision in the lower left. I deviated from Gunter’s trail where the orange line on the far left comes closest to Alta Vista. That was one long ass miserable climb at the end we had the good sense to avoid.The first up. Steep it was. In one place for every step I took up, I slid back two in the mud. Finally overcame though and made it to the top.Harder than it looks.And steeper than it appears. Not sure why my photographs rarely capture the inclines…It wasn’t so bad up top though.Except for the ubiquitous thatch grass…Poor rural living……featuring rich vistas…I did encounter a group of some of my biggest fans. They greeted me with shouts of “Chocolate! Chocolate!” Luckily I had some in my backpack.I burst out laughing when I saw this. That’s my Hash name on the post. I assumed Gúnter figured I’d never make it that far on his trail. He told me later though that he knows I like to post posts on Facebook…still funny though.
I’m keeping my eye out for low branches these days!The requisite view of Easter mountain.After we left Alta Vista and headed to the On-Home venue at Queen Victoria, I chuckled when I saw that we were once again back on the trail the Hare intended us to take.During the Hash circle, I was recognized for completing my 111th run with the Subic Bay Hash House Harriers. Leech My Pussy was required to assume a deferential position while being honored for her 55 runs. Damn, I’ve got to do something about that beer belly! And just to be clear, that’s sweat on my shorts.Hanging out with my posse after the circle…
Hash Monday which means an earlier than usual post and less than usual to post about. I actually did some serious blogging this morning in the comments to yesterday’s post. Go check them out if you need more substance.
Günter is the Hare today which means I’ll be making my own trail. I’ll have a covey of the new girls trekking with me so I’ll try to keep it light and as fun as possible. More on that tomorrow.
Last night I changed things up a bit and did my drinking at Cheap Charlies. It’s my second favorite bar and a lot less solitary than the time I spend at Mangos. Even got to enjoy a nice sunset from there:
What’s not to like?And shortly thereafter the moon came out.
I do try and avoid politics here at LTG because arguing about shit on social media isn’t going to change any minds. Besides, one of the advantages of living overseas is to not have all that bullshit in your face 24/7. Still, I do spend a couple of hours each morning catching up on the news from back home. It should come as no surprise that lefty heads are exploding over the Supreme Court vacancy. The hypocrisy of calling the Republicans hypocrites on moving forward with the nomination of a Ginsberg replacement is off the charts. Check out this collection of what the same Democrat leaders were saying in 2016 versus what they are saying now. And this takedown of Senator Dick “stolen valor” Blumenthal is priceless. Both worth the quick read involved.
Alright, let’s clean our palate with something for the foodies out there. I mean, I post some pics of stuff I cook here pretty frequently but the guy who created this masterpiece is a frickin’ genius:
Yummy!
And the only other thing going on is me staying strong in the face of what feels like an active pursuit by my married friend “Judy”. I’m tempted but not quite that stupid. So far.
Stay tuned for more adventures! Gotta run now. Well, hike. But you know what I mean.
