Hashoitus interruptus

Posted on 11/August/2020 by John McCrarey

A wet and mild trail yesterday but that was appropriate for the rainy weather we endured. A simple hike I’d done many times, starting in Alta Vista, through Marian Hills, a moderate climb to the ridgeline, and then an easy trek on My Bitch to our On-Home at Derelick’s place on Rizal Extension.

Which is not to say there wasn’t any excitement. As is my habit I was sitting on the screened porch with Derelick and a few other Hashers. Derelick called out to his helper to go close the front gate. Me, being the smartass that I am, picked up my phone, pretended to dial, and then said in a low voice “they are closing the gate now, but everyone is here. Proceed as planned”. And wouldn’t you know it, right after I put my phone down several uniformed police came in through the gate. Well, damn.

None of the cops came back to the porch area but instead interacted with the group of Hashers hanging out in the carport. I donned my facemask and stepped outside to get a better view of what was going on. My ex approached me and said she was leaving and I should leave too. I asked why and she told me they are talking about taking everyone to the police station for violating quarantine rules (gatherings of 10 or more are prohibited. We had around 30 in attendance). Well, I had not so fond memories of the time our Hash group had been detained by the Philippine Navy, so the idea of making a getaway sounded like a good one to me. As I walked past the police officers I heard one of them telling the group of foreigners that rules are rules and we are obligated to follow them. None of the cops paid me any attention as I moved towards the gate and slipped out. I was about ten minutes into my walk when the police van drove past me and I noticed there were no Hashers confined in the back. So, I decided to turn around and walk back to Derelick’s (all uphill) to see what happened.

The story as I understood it was that someone had called the cops to complain about a loud and large party taking place. Since this was the first day of the new more restrictive rules on gatherings I guess the police were looking to make an example out of someone. In the end, they didn’t, letting us off with a warning. The cops said if they were called again we’d all be detained and fined. Derelick explained that his housekeeper has been feuding with the neighbors and them dropping a dime on us was just retaliation. He didn’t think it was really a big deal.

Well, it did put a damper on things, that’s for sure. Buddy Fucker, our Grandmaster, canceled the ice delivery and declared there would be no circle. He later relented and conducted a modified circle for those who were scheduled for recognition. The Grandmaster also announced that the Hash would take a two-week hiatus to allow things to calm down a bit. I guess he later relented because I saw a post that we are doing a Hash next Monday, but the On-Home is being moved to Fuck a Duck’s house here in Alta Vista. That obviously works for me. It’s a great house (one of the nicest I’ve ever seen anywhere) and it is an easy stumble home for me afterward. So, it looks like it’s all good.

It was a short trail yesterday and it was raining so I didn’t take the phone out much for photos. Here are a few that I did manage to acquire:

***The walk we walked. All familiar ground, but it’s saturation with water made for a bit of a challenge. I had some slips and trips, but thankfully no falls.***

***The thatch grass must be loving all this rain. Bigger and thicker than ever!*** It snot bad.

***Hot To Trot was sweet and kind enough to hang back with the old guy so I wouldn’t be alone on trail. I appreciated the company…***

***I always appreciate the messages that I know have been left specifically for my benefit and encouragement. Thank you, Jesus! Or Satan.***

***Rizal Extension in all its wet glory.***

***Back at the On-Home, the Hash Gashes were keeping an eye on the food they had prepared.***

***A sad and quiet (no singing) modified Hash circle. Hopefully, we will be back to normal next week.***

And there you have my weekly Hash report, chock full of the kind of excitement I just don’t need! Seriously, as a foreigner, I can certainly imagine the powers that be making an example of a flagrant violator of their oh so precious rules. That could involve a blacklisting from immigration forcing me to leave my adopted home.

***Let’s just say I don’t want to do anything stupid!***

Enough already

Posted on 10/August/2020 by John McCrarey

Here we are on Hash Monday and experiencing our third straight day of heavy rainfall. I guess I really shouldn’t complain. It’s been a relatively dry rainy season up to this point. And from what I’ve been seeing in South Korea our rainfall ain’t squat. But I don’t have to like it.

***A nice enough view out my window I suppose, but you can have too much of a good thing as well.***

I guess if I were looking for a silver lining in those clouds I could point to this:

This tree has been growing like a weed and the top of it began obstructing the view from my upstairs balcony. I was contemplating cutting it down but mother nature took care of that problem for me. Thank you!

***The bay is about as angry as I’ve seen it.***

In other news, today is the beginning of yet another round of bullshit imposed by the local government ostensibly to fight the spread of COVID. I mentioned the 7:00 p.m. curfew and the Sunday lockdown already. But now there is also this:

***Imprisoned in Olongapo for all intents and purposes.***

Nobody leaves or enters Olongapo without having the proper travel documents and health clearance. That should make things interesting around here.

***Well, based on these numbers the virus isn’t doing nearly as much damage to people’s lives as the government is.***

I saw this on Facebook so I can’t vouch for its accuracy, but it does illustrate the point that the problems that are being exacerbated are far worse than anything the virus might do:

Each day, 95 children in the Philippines die from malnutrition. Twenty-seven out of 1,000 Filipino children do not get past their fifth birthday. A third of Filipino children are stunted, or short for their age. Stunting after 2 years of age can be permanent, irreversible and even fatal.” (UNICEF)
So nearly 3,000 children a month not to include stunted growth issues. We are talking about 20,000 children died this year in Phillippines due to malnutrition.
We have over 2209 total deaths of COVID since the virus outbreak (corona tracker) and in that time 20,000 children died of malnutrition.
What is the priority? What is the focus?

I’ve been in the Sweden mindset since the beginning of this insanity. No lockdowns, no closures, no mandates; just the application of common-sense prevention measures. It seems to have worked out well for them.

Alright, time for this old man to climb down from his soapbox. But before I go, I do want to say this:

Thanks for dropping by!

***I had intended to include this in yesterday’s post. But it works here too I think.***

Alone With Everybody

Posted on 09/August/2020 by John McCrarey

Life is a poem, and then you die. Well, that line sounded a lot more profound when it was in my head than it does when it appears in pixels. I’m no poet, although there was a time when I expressed my teenage angst in words that rhyme. Kinda like that. I even posted some of my work from those long-ago days here. There’s a reason I became a mailman rather than a writer.

The Only Way

Perhaps the best way
Is your way
Maybe the best belief
Is not to believe
Maybe the only answer
Is no answer
And maybe the only time
Is this time…
And yet,
Why can’t our love
Be the only love?

Alone

Alone in my fantasies
Alone with my dreams
But when I wake with the dawning
One sullen fact remains
That I am alone in my love for you—
The sun doesn’t shine, it rains.

See what I mean? The scary thing (besides the bad poetry) is that all these years later I am still more or less living those sentiments. Talk about being a slow learner!

But this post is about a real honest-to-goodness poet I truly admire–Charles Bukowski. Perhaps I’m a selfish reader of poetry, but my favorites are the ones whose words resonate with the thoughts and emotions I have experienced. I grew up around poetry; some of my earliest memories are of my father reading poems out loud to us kids. Over the years I’ve collected dozens of books by the likes of Sara Teasdale, e e cummings, James Kavanaugh, and various anthologies.

***These are the ones who made the journey to the Philippines with me.***

And nope, I’ve never owned a book of Bukowski poems. I actually discovered him relatively late in life. In fact, as I was preparing this post I saw where I had written about reading him for the first time back in November 2005. That post included a link to a Bukowski biography that is also quite interesting. I love the fact that he too is a former postal worker.

Convinced, then, almost from the outset of the hopelessness of humanity and lasting friendship, he largely rejected the goals after which most strive. Instead, he found solace in alcohol. “Getting drunk was good,” Bukowski says in Ham on Rye. “I decided that I would always like getting drunk. It took away the obvious and maybe if you could get away from the obvious often enough, you wouldn’t become obvious yourself” (189). Drinking and remaining “unobvious” thus became Bukowski’s vocation, until, that is, he started writing seriously around 1960. Then drinking, remaining “unobvious,” and writing were his vocations, and remain so to this day. Necessitated by the fact that none of his vocations paid enough for him to survive, he worked as dishwasher, truckdriver and loader, mailman, guard, gas station attendant, stock boy, warehouseman, shipping clerk, post office clerk, parking lot attendant, Red Cross orderly, and elevator operator, among other things (Contemporary Authors 109).

Heh, I guess the drinking part is something else we have in common. But that’s obvious, right?

So yesterday’s rain kept me confined to the house and passing away the hours on the internet. Which led me to discover this article about a new documentary called You Never Had It: An Evening With Charles Bukowski.

The paradox of Bukowski was that he was a poet who wrote about drinking, screwing, the track, despair and fighting, but had a persona that was gentle, mirthful and self-deprecating. It’s easy to imagine his voice, with its gentle lisp, used today for guided meditation audio. When Bukowski talks about “drinking and fucking and drinking and fucking” it’s with a shy smile and playful eyes that won’t always connect with the interviewer. It’s telling that Bukowski, the author of books like Love is a Dog from Hell, Women and Post Office, loved classical music, particularly Beethoven. Despite the dipsomania, he spoke with great precision.

Is it any wonder I like this guy?

So I was inspired to spend some time reading Bukowski poems yesterday. I didn’t like everything I came across, but this one stood out for some reason.

“Alone With Everybody”

the flesh covers the bone
and they put a mind
in there and
sometimes a soul,
and the women break
vases against the walls
and the men drink too
much
and nobody finds the
one
but keep
looking
crawling in and out
of beds.
flesh covers
the bone and the
flesh searches
for more than
flesh.

there’s no chance
at all:
we are all trapped
by a singular
fate.

nobody ever finds
the one.

the city dumps fill
the junkyards fill
the madhouses fill
the hospitals fill
the graveyards fill

nothing else
fills.

Powerful stuff, at least to my troubled mind.

My favorite Bukowski poem remains “The Laughing Heart“. I’ve shared it here several times, but the first time was the night I discovered it: Christmas Eve 2015. And what made it especially special was the way I found it:

Jee Yeun and I had recently split up and I was very bitter and cynical about love. I was lamenting to a bar friend about the forlorn state of my psyche, when this stranger walks up to me and says “I’m sorry to eavesdrop, but don’t ever give up!” Then she asked if I’d ever read “The Laughing Heart” by Charles Bukowski. Now, I’m a sucker for poetry and have read some of Bukowski’s stuff, but never this particular poem. So I grabbed my phone and pulled it up for a quick read. Well, that hit the spot. And I was very moved by the random act of kindness of the person who reached out and shared it.

And it is still raining.

That’s a no go

Posted on 08/August/2020 by John McCrarey

Overcast with some rain this morning provided all the excuse I needed to forego getting off my lazy ass for a hike. Truth be told I’ve been extremely unmotivated of late. And I’ve got the belly to prove it. Ah well, I’ll step it up again soon.

But not in these:

***One of the pairs of shoes I ordered arrived today. They were a steal at only 600 pesos ($12) but you get what you pay for. Very poor padding and cheap quality not suitable for trail hiking.***

So now I’m not optimistic the three other pairs are going to be suitable either. Which is why I don’t normally by shoes online. I’m especially concerned about the fit. The sizing for ordering was in EU standards, so I looked up the conversion and it said EU45 was equivalent to US size 11. Well, the label on these shoes does say EU45 but it also says US size 10. They are too tight for sure, not that it matters since I will not be wearing them.

And if things weren’t bad enough, last night it was announced that the curfew is being dropped back to 7 p.m. and starting next week the Sunday lockdown is being reinstated.

***It’s getting pretty fucking depressing.***

Of course, my inconvenience is nothing compared to the impact this has on recently reopened businesses and the people they employ. It has been astounding to witness the lack of concern government officials have for the Filipino people. How much more ass rapes they will tolerate is unclear but I’ve noticed a lot more grousing from normally docile locals. The sorry shame of it all is the fucking virus doesn’t give a shit what time it is and these measures are worthless. The pandemic is going to run its course curfew or no. The open question is will more die from starvation or COVID? Stay tuned.

Alright, had a good hike from Kalaklan in Olongapo back to Barretto yesterday. Jim, Scott, and Trey were in attendance. Around 6K all told, but some challenging trails along the way. It was a beautiful day and I’ve got the pictures to prove it.

***The path we walked took us up and down, then up and down, and we ended up at Cheap Charlies to rehydrate and enjoy some lunch.***

***Looking back at Olongapo we could see it was raining in the distance. Was it coming our way? Why yes it was! We were at least down from the mountain when it arrived though.***

***This little girl was too shy to accept my offering…***

***So I took the candy around back and left it there…***

***But smiles like these two gave me make it all worthwhile…***

***Get out of the way you two, you’re blocking the view!***

***We walked until the cows came home then headed back down the mountain.***

***I’ve certainly got no cause to complain about my lot in life.***

***I hope you agree that this post is twice as nice!***

That’s it for now. Saturday night looms, the last one with a 9 o’clock curfew for a while. I guess that calls for a celebration, right?

Saving my privates

Posted on 07/August/2020 by John McCrarey

I don’t believe in censorship, even when it is self-censoring. Recently I have done some posts about certain aspects and goings-on in my life that are more sensitive than usual. And I woke up at 3:00 a.m. this morning and some voice in my head was telling me that was a mistake.

But what to do about it? In over 15 years of blogging I’ve only deleted published posts once before. That was when I got called out at work for some content that was job-related and deemed inappropriate. I didn’t like doing it then but I wasn’t willing to give up my sweet salary over some little-read post. This time the issue that was troubling my mind was the possibility of my inadvertently causing trouble in the life of someone I care about. I still didn’t want to delete those posts so I did a quick Google search to learn how to password protect posts in WordPress. It was easier than I imagined to change the privacy setting. And that’s what I did for those five or six posts I thought might prove problematic.

Did I overreact? Perhaps. But I recalled some random guy recently commenting on something I wrote in 2005. And I got an email from someone this week saying he had found my blog while doing a search on Google about the quarantine requirements in Olongapo. A few months back a guy approached me in a bar saying he had found my blog doing some random search. Then he proceeded to lambast me for continuing to hike during the lockdown because “it made all foreigners look bad”. Anyway, the point is I tend to blog as if no one is going to read what I write. I do have some friends that I know read the blog and everyone else who does are random strangers anyway. But if one of those random strangers happened to know the person I was talking about or knew that person’s friends or decided to share some of what I wrote with them it might make a mess of things in ways that I would not want to be responsible for. Hence, the password protection for those posts.

I do not intend to make this a regular practice. I will perhaps be a bit more discrete about what I write and better consider the implications of words that may cause collateral damage to innocent bystanders. And any of you who are a regular reader/commenter here can send me a message and I’ll provide you the passwords for those posts. Fair enough? Sorry for the inconvenience.

In other news, I found this photo on Facebook rather titillating:

***Two will be plenty, thank you. Hmm, well, maybe four would be nice…***

I’m not sure what kind of fruit or plant this might be, but damn, I want a taste:

And I will close with this:

***Which may or may not be related to the posts I’ve decided to password protect.***

Things will be back to normal around here tomorrow, including some photos from today’s very pleasant mountaintop hike. Stick around!

Mismanagement

Posted on 06/August/2020 by John McCrarey

***Just another wet and nasty post for your reading pleasure.***

Yesterday there was a Hash “mismanagement” meeting held at Hunter’s Jo Inn in Calapadayan. Jim and I hiked out there in just a little over an hour. Pretty large turnout and some contentious moments, but we got through it. We voted to keep the Hashmobile, raise the price for the Hash to 400 pesos, and our new starting time will be at 2:00 p.m. henceforth.

***I had spaghetti for lunch. It was actually quite good. Biggest serving I’ve seen though. I could only eat about half of it.***

After the meeting, I wasn’t feeling up to the par. No energy and a strong case of the blahs. So, I made it an early evening and came home. I had had a sore throat the night before which affected my sleep. So I took a nap for an hour and still felt like shit when I woke up. Took my temperature and I was officially feverish at 38.9. What could these symptoms mean?

***Well, we had the first reported COVID case in Barretto this week. That got my imagination going!***

I took some ibuprofen for the fever and gargled some saltwater with cider vinegar for the throat. This morning my fever is gone and the soreness in my throat is on my neck, including some swelling. Not sure what’s up with that but I’m feeling reassured that I’ve dodged the COVID bullet. For now anyway.

Speaking of which, the latest in a long series of “let’s fuck with people” will be implemented new week:

***First it was masks. Now face shields. I guess HAZMAT suits are on the horizon.***

I mentioned in an earlier post that the only way bars could reopen was if they sold food. That’s more or less what is happening, although only two that I know of are requiring you to order something to eat prior to getting your drink. Anyway, this cracked me up:

In other news, I saw this classic parked on the street yesterday:

***If I’m not mistaken, that’s a 1969 Chevrolet Impala. Looking pretty damn good for 50 years old!***

Oh, and I had forgotten that I took a photo at the Royal grocery store while shopping on Tuesday. Tillamook is the best ice cream available, much richer and creamier than the local brands. Definitely my favorite.

*But as much as I like it I can’t bring myself to spend almost ten bucks for a half-gallon. It used to be around $8. and I’d grit my teeth and buy it anyway. I guess those days are gone.*

And that’s where things stand in my neck of the woods.

The unbearable lightness of being

Posted on 05/August/2020 by John McCrarey

Ah, the adventures that come with being a blogger. I think it would be fair to call LTG a niche blog. In fact, these days I think of it almost like a diary that has been left outside for the world to see. And if my stat counter is to be believed, I average around 175 people dropping by for a read every day. A few of you even leave comments which are also much appreciated.

A while back I did a post about some victim of a bear attack. It included some graphic photos, including this one:

When I say I posted this a while back, I’m talking more than 15 years ago, in February 2005. That was just three months into my blogging career, such as it is. I certainly had no recollection of the post but was surprised to see that someone had recently commented on it:

Bullshit. I call bullshit. That first pic is a forced perspective. Something hunters and fisherman do (look it up). And the pic of the so called remains were taken with a newer HD camera, where’s as the first 2 pics were taken with something from the late 90’s / early 2000’s. The storey is bullshit, and the pics are in no way related to each other. Your an idiot to believe this work of fiction.

Thank you for the feedback, Fukh Hoffman. Maybe I’m an idiot but comments are always welcome, even if they are impolite and 15 years late. For what it’s worth, I did update the post in question noting that the story has been shown to be false. Oh, and it’s “you’re an idiot” not your.

It does just go to show that what you post on a blog is pretty much forever. I’m sure I’ve said lots of things that would get me canceled back home in the USA. Not that I care.

One of my most prolific commenters, Kevin Kim, mentioned the full moon picture I posted yesterday. Here it is again:

***Kevin accurately noted that moonshots with a cellphone camera rarely capture the magnificence that can be seen with the naked eye.***

I had also taken a shot of the moon in full zoom mode with my phone. It came out like this:

***No better than the other one, right? A Facebook commenter did note that it appears the moon is wearing a mask in this photo. I guess that makes it timely and relevant at least.***

And while we are on the topic of blogging and bloggers, one of my regular reads, Althouse, had a link to the love story between Jonas Salk and French artist Françoise Gilot:

“When Jonas proposed, she had replied, ‘A relationship would be all right, but I don’t want to get married…. Because I don’t want to live with anybody more than six months a year. That’s it. I need my own time to myself, plus I have my children.’ Jonas handed her a piece of paper. ‘Write down everything that you don’t want,’ he directed. ‘I’ll give you an hour.’ Françoise proceeded to write down those elements that would make the marriage unsuitable for her. Jonas read it over. ‘Very good. It fits my life perfectly.’ ‘But we don’t know each other,’ she cautioned, ‘and it may be disastrous because you’re a scientist, and our lives are very far apart.’ ‘No,’ Jonas countered, in what seemed more like a business transaction than a romantic moment, ‘even if we’re not so happy, at least we’ll be like a citadel; we’ll be a fortress for each other.’ Françoise thought about it. Both felt exhausted by the world and sought a refuge…. Though many could not fathom their marital arrangement, Salk and Gilot’s relationship matured as they grew to know each other better. ‘We found new discoveries all the time,’ Gilot recalled. And Salk maintained, ‘I have achieved in terms of personal relationships as much with Françoise as I could possibly fantasize.’ When asked in an interview how she had ended up with two of history’s most powerful men, Gilot replied: ‘Lions mate with lions.'”

Wow. Not really sure why, but that really resonated with me. I’ve been fucking up my love life for decades now. Maybe I just haven’t found a lion yet. Although come to think of it, one of my ex’s did say that I was a “lyin’ bastard!” Yeah, I’m the common denominator in all those failed relationships. Guilty as charged.

Speaking of the kind of women I seem to attract, Mary hasn’t thrown in the towel yet. She’s changing her tactics though. She continues to harass and borderline stalk me and last night I told her I was seeing someone else now and that I wanted to remain faithful. Here is what she had to say in a message this morning:

Baby, do you want me to be your friend with benefits? If you want I will see you because I like having sex with you. Is that okay with you? No money involved, just sex only.

I told her again I don’t want to cheat and will see how my new relationship works out.

But wow, it’s really something to have a 21-year-old woman practically begging for sex from a 65-year-old grandfather. Of course, I’m not stupid enough to believe that is her endgame. I guess this could be like a test to see just how stupid I might truly be.

In somewhat related news, I found this joke to be kinda funny:

How about one more?

Sometimes when I reflect on all the beer I drink, I feel ashamed. Then I look into the glass and think about the workers in the brewery and all of their hopes and dreams. If I didn’t drink this beer, they might be out of work and their dreams would be shattered. I think, “It is better to drink this beer and let their dreams come true than be selfish and worry about my liver

It’s the least I can do!

Can’t wait to read the comments on this post 15 years from now!

Making my own way

Posted on 04/August/2020 by John McCrarey

“The feelings that hurt most, the emotions that sting most, are those that are absurd – The longing for impossible things, precisely because they are impossible; nostalgia for what never was; the desire for what could have been; regret over not being someone else; dissatisfaction with the world’s existence. All these half-tones of the soul’s consciousness create in us a painful landscape, an eternal sunset of what we are.”

― Fernando Pessoa

Another day. I kinda liked the way this one started for me though.

***Waking up and looking out my window as the full moon was setting over the mountains.***

This is going to basically be a Hash post with a little twist. I didn’t do Günter’s (Vienna Sausage) trail having kept my vow of “never again” risking life and limb when he’s the Hare. Looking at the map of his hike though I can see there would have been no danger (other than wet feet from the rice paddy) and a single sane climb I’ve done before. Ah well, better safe than sorry I suppose.

So when I started out on my personal Hash it was just me and My Bitch.

***Familiar territory but it’s been a few weeks since I’ve walked this way.***

***That would be me documenting my journey.***

I dropped off some candy and cookies for the mountain family, then continued on my way. And lo and behold, I encountered a group of Hashers coming up from the valley below. At the time I thought maybe I had inadvertently intersected with Günter’s trail but it turns out this bunch was doing their own Hash too. I happily joined the cadre and continued on with them to our On-Home.

***It’s good to have company on trail!***

***John and his wife are actually neighbors of mine in Alta Vista.***

Only about an hour from my house to the On-Home at Derelick’s place on Rizal Extension. With the noon start and early finish, I had too much time for beer drinking early in the afternoon. Oh well, it is a once a week indulgence I suppose.

***Sitting around waiting for the Hash circle to commence.***

***I always enjoy the Hash virgin initiations. This gal was a real cutie too!***

Things did get a little weird. My ex is a Hasher and was there as usual, although she pretty much stays away from me. I’m okay with that and we are still on friendly terms. But then I was surprised when Iline showed up. My ex (who has always been jealous of Iline) gave me a look that seemed to say “I knew it!”. Although actually Iline kept her distance from me as well. We’d talked about the need to maintain the guise of just being friends out of respect for her relationship and to avoid the Filipina love of gossip. That’s fine by me.

At the conclusion of the circle, I made my way to Sit-n-Bull for some dinner. I was pretty drunk at this point and don’t even recall what I ordered. I also don’t have a clear memory of getting home, but I did, safe and sound. Was in bed before 8 p.m. in fact.

Did my grocery shopping this morning and was pleasantly surprised to be allowed on the base without questioning. I had heard they were going back on a strict residents only lockdown. Manila went back to “enhanced quarantine” status effective today but thankfully that did not include Zambales/Olongapo. Yet anyway.

After leaving the supermarket I had my driver swing by the Harbor Pointe mall. They have a Merrill shoe store there. Alas, that store was closed. It was almost heartbreaking to see all that fine footwear on display. So close, but so far away. I guess I’ll see what I can find online, although I’m loathe to purchase shoes I haven’t tried on. Desperate times call for desperate measures I suppose.

Speaking of desperate, Mary was burning up my phone again this morning. I continue to ignore her, but now she has resorted to begging me for money because her child is hungry. That pulls at my heartstrings I admit, but I’m just not willing to open that door. I know where it leads–to the land of endless “emergencies”. Nope, not going there.

Living in the bubble

Posted on 03/August/2020 by John McCrarey

Message in a bottle? I thought this odd bubble in my beer last night might have some metamorphic qualities. Interesting to look at and enjoy but destined to burst like a shattered dream? Well, the beer was cold and wet at least.

A somewhat interesting day yesterday. Well, by my low standards anyway. Here’s how it went down:

Things started off with a bang when Iline came to the house. I suppose that’s a double entendre, but yes we did. I had suggested we go on a shopping excursion at the mall as there were some things I needed to purchase, primarily some new hiking shoes. Iline has a driver’s license, but no vehicle. Since I was planning to do lunch as well I didn’t want to pay my driver to sit around waiting for us. So Iline borrowed a friend’s car for the afternoon. Turns out she is a relatively safe and sane driver, especially in comparison to my guy.

We arrived at the SM Central mall without incident. Well, I did have a phone call, which was surprising because my phone almost never rings. When I saw it was from Mary I didn’t answer. Iline saw who was calling as well and laughed. Then Mary sent me a message saying she was coming to Barretto and wanted to see me. I responded by telling her I wasn’t home and not to bother coming.

The first order of business at the mall was finding some lunch. I thought I remembered there being a Korean restaurant somewhere but when I finally found it on the third floor it wasn’t open. Oh well, we wound up at a place called Tokyo Tokyo and did lunch Japanese style. Nothing special (Iline had some fried shrimp thing and I did teriyaki wings) but with the social distancing measures we had a wooden divider separating us at our table. Pain in the ass. I did express to Iline that I found it odd for us to be enjoying Japanese food in the Philippines after all of the WWII atrocities. She didn’t seem to mind though.

After lunch, I spotted a Watson’s drug store and went inside in search of some of those plastic flossing/toothpick things and some eyeglass cleansing wipes. Found the floss but no wipes. Popped into an eyeglass place and then didn’t have wet wipes either, but sold me a bottle of cleansing liquid instead. At the athletic shoe store they had footwear for different sports but nothing for hiking. Besides, I don’t buy Nike products anymore.

Next stop, the SM department store. I found the socks and underwear I needed on the second floor, then went upstairs to the shoe department. I was happy to see a nice display of Merril hiking shoes. And they had a special deal going–buy two pairs and get 1000 peso discount. I picked out two different styles and asked the clerk for size 11. He disappeared into the backroom and we waited for his return. And waited. Then waited some more. For the first time in quite a while, I had to break out my mantra “deep breath, relax, accept the Filipino way”. Eventually, a female clerk came back with one of the shoes I’d asked about and said they only had this in size 10. No thanks! I gave her another shoe to check and off she went. Meanwhile, the first clerk returned and also advised there were no size 11 available in the style I wanted. Same with the third pair. Ah well.

On the way back to the car we passed a store that had the Bluetooth headphones I’ve needed, so I made that purchase. Got everything except what I came for in the end. That’s life in the Philippines!

I checked my phone and saw that I had several more messages from Mary saying she was coming to Barretto and wanted to see me. I ignored them.

Iline got me home safe and sound and I invited her in. We had some small talk and I made her a strawberry-banana smoothie using the berries from Baguio I had purchased from her. The berries that in a roundabout way had brought us together. And then my phone chirped again and it was Mary saying she was at the 7/11 outside my subdivision and that she wanted me to meet her. At this point, I was starting to feel like I was being stalked. Iline asked what I was going to do and I said I was going to continue to ignore Mary. Iline said what if she comes to your house? Oh shit, she does know where I live. I needed to go out to find “mama” and give her her daily bread money. And I was also ready to quaff some brews. But I didn’t want to have a chance encounter on the street with Mary. I asked Iline to drive me to the other side of Barretto so I could start my search for mama. She agreed, and off we went.

Sure enough, as we turned onto the highway there was Mary keeping an eagle eye on the passerby. Iline said she thought she had seen us inside the car. I’m not sure, the windows are tinted but she did look in our direction. A little further up the highway I spotted mama and had Iline drop me there. After giving mama the food money, I crossed the street and went upstairs to Cheap Charlies.

As I settled in and tried to enjoy my beer I got another message from Mary. She said she was outside my house and was waiting for me to come out and talk to her. I texted back that I wasn’t home and she needed to leave. She said okay she would leave then.

I had one more beer and headed up the street. Just to be safe I popped into Mango’s and had a couple more beers. I wanted to be sure that Mary wasn’t waiting to ambush me on the way home.

***The back porch at Mango’s was covered in sand. Apparently last night’s high tide had been higher than normal. Eh, it just added to the beachside drinking ambiance.***

I got home before dark and with no Mary sightings. She has however been blowing up my phone this morning but I continue to ignore her.

I’ve got the Hash coming up in a couple of hours. Günter is the Hare again so I’ll be doing my own trail today. Think it’s time to enjoy My Bitch again. Or maybe I should rename the trail “Mary”.

Keep on keeping on

Posted on 01/August/2020 by John McCrarey

Highlights from the previous 24 hours, such as they are.

Did a bit of a bar crawl last evening. Started out in the newest joint in town called The Green Room. The latest addition to Dave Fisher’s empire known as The Maze. The Green Room is a bit different in that it is a sports bar format–no stage, no dancing girls. I did get a nice back massage while I was sitting there though. Also had a good chat with Dave.

Moved up the street to Hot Zone and enjoyed a couple of beers with the owner, Jay. Not busy but a couple of cuties on stage. Part of the rules allowing bars to reopen include purchasing food, so I bought some kind of meat on a stick and gave them to the girls. One other customer in the place and Jay invited him to our table. Turns out he’s the Captain of some massive yacht anchored in Subic Bay. Interesting guy.

Then I moved on down to my regular haunt, Mangos. I got there later than normal so it was dark and the beach was deserted. I ordered up a salad with chicken strips and ranch dressing. It was pretty good. A couple of beers and headed for home. It was raining so I took a trike. And thanks to the curfew, I was in bed by 9 p.m.

Early to bed and early to rise, wise or not, I was up at 4:30 and feeling healthy. Turns out Iline is also an early riser and we got to chatting. I invited her over and she agreed to come see me, telling me she would run from her place (around 2K or so). I was a little concerned about her running in the dark but she said she does it all the time. I finally convinced her to wait until 5:30 when the sun was rising. And then she arrived by trike because it had started to rain. Oh well.

So, we had some coffee and chat, I fed the dogs and she joined me when I walked Buddy (Lucky opted not to come). Iline told me about her workout routines which start with 300 jumping jacks! It reminded me a little of when I did some exercising so I dug out my elastic bands and abdomen wheel and we fooled around with that for a bit. I may be inspired to start up again although I’m never going to be in Iline’s league. That girl is fit!

The rain had quit so I took Iline on one of my regular hikes, mostly flat and around 7K. That was, of course, nothing to her but we did have some good convo and I really enjoyed having her company as we walked.

***That’s the girl of my dreams! And maybe one day my dream will come true. I even came up with her Hash name…***

Oh, and here’s the postmortem on Mary. We were supposed to have gotten together yesterday. In fact, she was planning to spend the night. I put a kibosh on that idea but she was persistent. Even telling me all the things she would do for me in the bedroom. I briefly toyed with the idea of fucking her hard and then fucking her over by sending her home, but it just wasn’t worth it. No point in being vindictive to the little scammer. She was back at it this morning wanting to come over, messaging and calling (which I didn’t answer). Her last message was “are you busy?”. I responded “Yes, busy moving on with my life. You should too.” That seemed to do the trick as I haven’t heard from her since.

And that my friends brings you pretty much up to date. I’m planning to go to Olongapo with Iline tomorrow for some much needed shopping. My hiking shoes are shot, my underwear needs replacing, and I could use some more socks. Exciting times here for me. No idea what the future holds but I’m in a “bring it on, bitch!” mode these days. That’s a nice change.

It was the best of times

Posted on 31/July/2020 by John McCrarey

A lazy rainy day here this morning but yesterday turned out to be mighty special.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, my friend Iline joined me for an afternoon cookout. But it turned out to be so much more. For me at least. The food was prepared and served pretty much as intended and my guest seemed to enjoy the meal. Of course, that wasn’t the highlight of our time together.

I’ve been knowing Iline for over a year now, having first met her on one of the Wednesday hikes. I felt an immediate and strong physical attraction to her but I had a girlfriend at the time so that’s all it was. I certainly had no indication that the attraction was mutual anyway. She started coming out to the Hash on a regular basis and I guess I didn’t do a good job of hiding my interest because the girlfriend got very jealous and we had a big fight over it. Actually, Iline revealed to me yesterday that several of the female Hashers had admonished her to stay away from me because of my jealous girlfriend.

***I think maybe this was the night my girlfriend got mad…***

After my breakup, Iline is the first person I went to see (she’s the receptionist/cashier at Treasure Island) but alas, she informed me she was in a relationship. So I gave dating Jessa a try without much success and then had my chance encounter with Mary that went nowhere fast. And that’s where things stood with me as we sat down at the dining room table for a meal and some chat.

I was frankly surprised. Or maybe astounded is more like it. As long as I’ve known Iline I’ve never really had the opportunity to talk with her at length. And we talked for hours yesterday. Also laughed a lot, she’s got a great sense of humor. Even got my jokes. And by the end of the afternoon, I realized what I’d been missing. For years and years now. A true emotional and intellectual connection with a female of the species. And I think she felt it too. Hell, I know she did because we talked about it. Sadly, in terms of missed opportunities.

Iline is in a long-distance relationship, one that she is unwilling and/or unable to end now. I completely understand and it was certainly no surprise as she had warned me before accepting my invitation that we were meeting only as friends. And I have no regrets about the experience at all. It was good to feel what I felt again. Honestly, it had been so long that I had forgotten just how good it feels to truly connect with someone on more than a physical level. Yes, I lament the fact that our timing sucked and that I had previously lacked the courage to pursue her in a meaningful way. That’s on me.

So, that was one of my takeaways–you snooze, you lose. But more importantly, I am no longer willing to settle for less than what I found yesterday. I might fool around with someone to pass the time, but I’m not doing a relationship that doesn’t include what I felt with Iline. I have an entirely new outlook now.

Yes, it’s true. I fell in love again and it was wonderful.

***Sorry, Kevin. I was 3/4 of the way through my dinner plate when I realized I’d forgotten to take a photo. Hey, I was distracted! Here are my brownies and cornbread though.***

The headlines read ‘these are the worst of times’
I do believe it’s true
I feel so helpless like a boat against the tide
I wish the summer winds could bring back Paradise
But I know, if the world turned upside down
Baby, I know you’d always be around

The best of times are when I’m alone with you
Some rain some shine, we’ll make this a world for two
Our memories of yesterday will last a lifetime
We’ll take the best, forget the rest
And someday we’ll find these are the best of times
These are the best of times

True confessions

Posted on 30/July/2020 by John McCrarey

On the menu for today: A couple of quick updates for my faithful followers and then a slew of photos from yesterday’s hike. Let’s get to it!

I didn’t hear from Mary before falling asleep last night, but this morning I woke to a message asking me to buy her a laptop so she could enroll in school. Hmm, where have I heard that before? Anyway, I sent a message telling her she might be in luck because I had just ordered a new computer for me and perhaps we could work something out for her to acquire my old one. She responded that she can’t enroll in school now because she doesn’t have tuition money. Would I be willing to help with that? I reminded her that she has been unwilling to do anything for me in return for my generosity. I haven’t heard anything from her since then. It’s kind of funny seeing how she operates. It’s all about the cash. Once I insisted on paying for the MRI with my credit card, suddenly it was never mentioned again. When I potentially offered a used laptop, she suddenly decided that it was the tuition she required. And yet, when I hint at a quid pro quo she seems to lose all interest in the transaction. Anyway, it’s all kind of amusing now that I’m on to her, especially since she doesn’t know it!

My big news is that I’m going to have a guest for lunch today–my friend Ilene (the one who tipped me off about Mary). Out of the blue, she suggested we get together, something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. Ilene has a boyfriend back in Canada so I asked her about the basis of our meetup–a date or a friendly get-together. She responded just two good friends hanging out. Oh well, should be fun anyway. Grilled steak, baked potato, mixed veggies, and cornbread are on the menu, with brownies and ice cream for dessert. I’m hoping to make a good impression!

That’s Ilene (the female in the photo). She used to do the Hash (Hot to Trot) but has been inactive of late. She does enjoy hiking, jogging, going to the gym, and participating in a decathlon type event know as the Spartan. She’s mid-30s with two teenaged daughters. I’m looking forward to getting to know her better.

That concludes the update portion of this post.

***And here we commence with the hiking portion of today’s post…***

I had a couple of kilometers to hike to reach our meet-up location. And as I passed by Columban College, a Catholic school, I noticed this sign:

***And before I knew it, I blurted out “I stole a car when I was 16”. Strange magic!***

***My hike mates for the day were Troy…***

***…and Scott. Most of these photos were taken by Scott.***

***We took on the big mountain. The climb to the top started with these stairs…***

***Call me a chicken, but I’d hate to be cooped up in there!***

***Scott and Troy enjoying the scenery…***

***This provides a good foundation for someone’s broken dreams…***

***A rare glimpse of the Great Wall of Barretto.***

***And lo and behold who do we see? Mama! That gal gets around!***

Anyway, it was one of our better hikes. Slick and steep in places, but no crashes or fuckups (not counting Mary of course). I’d call that a pretty good day.

Alright, time for me to get cooking! I don’t want to disappoint Ilene.

On this date

Posted on 29/July/2020 by John McCrarey

***I’ve posted this before, but it is worth repeating and remembering.***

Here’s the latest installment in my so-called (dating) life.

Yesterday Mary and I had agreed to meet up for a few hours. She had first suggested 10:00 a.m. but I told her I wouldn’t be done with my weekly grocery shopping by then. I messaged her later that we could get together around 11. At first, I thought I’d just meet her at the mall near where she lives but then decided I didn’t feel like doing that. So, I figured I’d have my driver swing by to get her and we’d all go home together. When I reached her again she said she couldn’t leave until 2:00. Oh well, then. Meet me in Barretto.

As two o’clock approached Mary messaged me again to say she couldn’t come until 3:00. Now, I already knew she had to leave by 7:00 so I just told her never mind, it wasn’t worth the trip. She insisted she still wanted to come and I didn’t really have any other plans, so why not? Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t really blaming Mary. She’s a single mother with a disabled three-year-old son. So the only time she can get out of the house is when her Ate (Aunt) is there to babysit. This is why Mary had to leave at 7:00 in the first place; her Ate had plans.

So, I’m waiting at the 7/11 on the corner for Mary’s arrival at 3:00. Granted, traffic was bad in Barretto but when she still was not there at 3:20 I was getting frustrated. So I took the opportunity to practice having patience and within a few minutes she had arrived. Yay! Now, I had ordered some fresh strawberries from my friend Ilene and I needed to pick them up from her at Treasure Island where she works. I loaded Mary in a trike and we headed out to Baloy Beach. We sat down at the T.I. outdoor bar and Ilene, who works in reception, promptly delivered the berries. I asked Mary if she had ever been to T.I. before and she said no. So I suggested we have dinner and enjoy the beachside/poolside ambiance. Mary ordered ramyun and I went with the sweet and sour chicken. We both pronounced our meals delicious.

We still had a couple of hours to fill so we caught a trike back to my place. Some small talk at the kitchen table but then I got hungry for something else so invited Mary upstairs. We talked some more, about her possibly returning to school and about her son’s medical issues. Mary said he needs an MRI, but the cost is 15,000 pesos ($300.). Me, being me, said I would consider helping her with that. That pleased her. But it became clear she was not interested in pleasing me. Again. Mary asked me if I was mad and I honestly told her I wasn’t. Disappointed and frustrated, but not mad. I also told her that I had no interest in a sexual relationship if she did not share that interest. As I walked her back to the Jeepney stand she told me she was sorry and blamed it on her inexperience. Mary says I’m her first foreigner and the only other man she’s been with was her son’s father. She promised to be better when we meet for an overnighter on Friday.

And that’s where we left things. She drove off in the Jeepney and I headed to Mango’s for some beers. A bit later Mary sent me a message saying “I think I fall in love with you. I don’t know how to explain my feeling.” I responded, “actions speak louder than words.” And then we said our goodnights.

A bit later, I sent a message to Ilene thanking her again for the strawberries. Ilene congratulated me on my new love life. I told her that Mary is very young and then told the story of how I met her. Ilene responded, “I know her”. What? Ilene related that Mary had come to Treasure Island before with a customer who was courting her. His name is also John. And Ilene said it was the same story “I’m looking for a job”. She told me to be careful because “that girl is a liar”. Apparently Mary did a disappearing act on the other John after a few days.

Hmm. So, it would appear that Mary lied about never having been to T.I., lied about never having had a foreigner before, and who knows what else. I wonder if she even has a son, disabled or not.

I was pretty much blown away by these revelations. I mean I had kept my guard up and was monitoring the red flags, but that almost the entire story Mary had fed me was bullshit was hard to get my head around. And it still doesn’t make sense. I mean, if she hadn’t been so reluctant to fuck me, maybe she could have sucked me into whatever her ultimate scam might have been. Why lie and then not go all in?

Ilene gave me comforting words, told me what a great guy I am and any woman would be lucky to have me. I reminded her that she was the woman I had wanted for a long time, but she was never available when I was and vice-versa. Ilene agreed and promised to let me know if her situation ever changed.

I decided not to confront Mary with my new-found information last night. And I had my hike this morning. When I checked my messages later, there was one from Mary saying her son was scheduled for an MRI on Friday, and was I still willing to help? I decided to play along and told her of course, just let me know what time and I’ll come to the hospital (Baypointe) and pay with my credit card. She said she’d get back to me. Later she messaged that she had talked to the cashier and they wouldn’t accept a credit card. I responded that when I got my treatment at Baypointe I paid with a credit card. I told her I’d go to the hospital with her and get it all straightened out. After a bit, she came back and said the MRI was moved to Monday. I told her I could meet her there Monday morning before the Hash. Her last message was “thanks, I’ll let you know”. I don’t know if I’ll hear from her again or not. She must know I’ve called her bluff. Neither of us has canceled Friday’s date at this point yet either. I’m still thinking about a scenario where I’d fuck her good and hard and then confront her with my knowledge of her deceit. It’s a nice fantasy at least.

But wait, there’s more! Well, actually I’m going to save that until I know more about what more is. Don’t worry, it’s not about Mary.

Bottom line, I’m glad I found out but I’m disappointed in myself for not seeing through the bullshit. Mary is a convincing liar, that’s for sure. You’d think a man of my age and experience would have figured that out. Then again, when you consider my history with women it is not so surprising after all.

What a life!

No country for old men

Posted on 28/July/2020 by John McCrarey

Actually, this is the BEST country for old men. What are the odds I’d be dating a 21-year-old back home in the states? And while we are on the topic of old farts, I was pleasantly surprised by yesterday’s Hash trail. The Hare, Fucking Old Man, is in his 80s now and on the rare occasions when he lays a trail they are notoriously easy. Not so yesterday though. We did a good long trail that included a moderate climb. Well done, FOM!

***That’s Fucking Old Man and his gal Wonder Woman. As is our tradition, the Hares are required to sit on the ice while the kennel provides feedback on his efforts.***

Let’s go to the trail!

***We are pretty limited on where we can get to these days. Still, FOM found some new paths through the valley that kept things interesting.***

***Through the village of San Isidro…***

***Bouncing Boobies gave me the Hashit on some pretext or another…***

***And we also celebrated Bouncing Boobies’ birthday in the traditional Hash fashion. We made her a cake. From scratch.***

Anyway, it turned out to be one of the nicer Hashes I’ve experienced in a while. No complaints!

Where can a man go?

Posted on 27/July/2020 by John McCrarey

Welcome to another Hash Monday! This means you get treated to a morning post here at LTG since I’m unlikely to be in any condition to be blogging after the Hash.

Some good news is that the mayor has squelched rumors that another lockdown will soon be imposed on Olongapo. He did add the caveat that it is imperative that we all follow the rules in order to stop the spread of the dreaded COVID virus. Good luck with that!

I guess I’ve pretty much acclimated myself to this new lifestyle. Even with most of the bars having reopened I’m still hanging out in my old favorites, primarily Cheap Charlies and Mango’s. CC offers up some good music (with video) and cute waitresses who will happily join you for some chat in exchange for a lady drink (100 pesos/$2). Hey, you get used to paying for your company quicker than you’d think! Mango’s on the other hand offers no such amenities. Usually, there is some loud-ass European sporting event blaring from the big screen TVs and as often as not, I have to go to the bar to fetch a refill on my beer. But more and more I find myself gravitating here for my daily liquid refreshment. One reason is that they continued to serve me during the quarantine lockdown when others would not. They’ve earned my loyalty for that. But mainly I just enjoy sitting beachside on the back porch enjoying the views. Hell, maybe I am getting old.

The locals also usually provide some entertainment as well.

***Yesterday the neighborhood kids were playing some sandlot baseball. It was pretty fun to watch.***

And should I grow hungry a menu is always at hand.

***One of my favorites at Mango’s is the grilled pork chops. A big ass serving for less than $10.***

And it is pleasant to watch the sun go down on another day in paradise.

***A red sky at night is a sailor’s delight if I’m recalling correctly…***

Life is not perfect of course, but damn, I’m glad to be here.

***I’m a long way from rock bottom! I could use a little more Filipina bottom perhaps, but it’s all good.***

There’s something about Mary

Posted on 26/July/2020 by John McCrarey

What that something is I haven’t quite figured out. Maybe I never will.

Last night’s get together was something of a roller coaster ride. Mary was a little late arriving at our rendevous location and we were bumping up against the pending curfew. No trikes were available so she walked with me to the house without complaint. Mary said she wasn’t hungry, so I made up a batch of strawberry-banana smoothies.

I tried to engage her in some conversation but she seemed shyer and more reserved than during our first meeting. I’d had a few beers while waiting for her so I probably wasn’t providing much inspiration either. I remember asking her if she likes me and she responded by holding up her thumb and index finger maybe an inch apart and said “a little”. Hmm, that made me wonder why she had even bothered to come. Oh. Probably for the money. This led me to broach the subject of my being her Sugar Daddy. Mary had never heard of the concept and after I explained it she simply said “will it pay the rent?”

Mary strikes me as being quite the enigma–equal parts shy, innocent, and mercenary. But I guess desperate times require stepping out of her comfort zone. So I took her upstairs to the bedroom.

The next morning she came downstairs acting like nothing was wrong. The dogs like her at least. She didn’t want breakfast and after a couple of minutes of small talk, she asked if she could take a shower. I took her upstairs and showed how the shower water heater worked.

While she was in the bathroom, I put the rent money under her phone. She came out, saw the money, and asked “what’s this?”. I told her it was the rent money. And she didn’t want to take it. I finally told her it was her birthday present and her severance pay. She asked why and I told her I wasn’t interested in spending time with someone who couldn’t even pretend to be interested in me. Mary said, “but I really do like you a lot!”. I’m like, WTF? We just had this conversation on the bed and you agreed that you weren’t attracted to me. Her response floored me: “I really couldn’t understand much of what you were saying. You talk too fast.” So I said, well, you know, if you don’t tell me you don’t understand me, how am I supposed to explain or slow down? You kept nodding and agreeing with me, so I assumed you understood. So, anyway, we agreed that I would try to slow down my speech (my domestic helper agrees I’m hard to understand at times) and Mary will tell me to repeat myself as needed. We’ll see.

I told Mary to keep the money and consider it an advance on her first month’s salary. She reluctantly agreed to this. We haven’t really defined the terms of her employment yet. I’m just looking for a little company and companionship. And satisfying boom-boom now and then. I have no idea how that is going to work out, but I’ll give her another shot anyway I guess. I don’t really have any other irons in the fire right now.

And oh yeah. I walked her to the Jeepney stop and said goodbye. On her way home she sent me a message: “I think I’m falling in love with you.” Oh boy, here we go again. I’m a LONG way from feeling that emotion so I just told her we’d take it slowly and see where it leads us.

Bottom line: No, I don’t think she is a scammer. I think she is inexperienced and naturally shy. I’m not sure what her ultimate goal is, but it probably revolves around financial security, i.e. “the rent”. I think she has been pretty upfront about that. Now if she can just up her game and learn to make me feel special we could potentially have a win-win. Otherwise, I’m prepared to walk away.

UPDATE: I did something I very rarely do here at LTG…edited a completed post. I deleted some of the details about last night because it just seemed like too much information for a public blog. Sorry if what remains is more disjointed than usual.

What’s next?

Posted on 25/July/2020 by John McCrarey

Nothing much of interest today. Well, yet anyway. Mary told me she plans to arrive at 8 p.m. We’ll see where that goes.

In the meantime, here are some photos from yesterday’s 10K hike:

***The route we took out to the Naugsol barangay and back again.***

***A pleasant enough day for a hike with Troy and Scott…***

***Down in the valley, the valley so low…***

***…hang you over, watch the rice grow.***

***And some new kids on the black happy with cookies from the old guy.***

***I have no idea what this is supposed to depict or represent. It was just lying there next to the trail. Perhaps there’s a message in there for me?***

***And a river crossing. On a dicey bridge.***

Now, I’ve got a phobia for this type of swinging suspension bridge. But since it had that net railing, I felt confident enough to give it a go. What I didn’t know was that the mesh wire flooring had been damaged. I tread as lightly as possible, fearing that at any moment my foot was going to fall through.

***We all made it safely across. Scott and I both decreed that it was the last time we’d ever cross that bridge when we came to it.***

***Even though it was a mostly flat walk I was running out of gas towards the end of it. Maybe it’s old age setting in, but I seem to only be good for 8K or so in one go these days.***

***Troy headed home and Scott joined me at my house for some cold beer, chicken nuggets, and cheese nachos. Hit the spot for sure!***

In other news, it turns out the Arizona Resort is not closing after all. This was posted on Facebook:

What was left unsaid was who would be running the place. The supposition is that the property owner is going to take over operations. So, glad it will still be an option but I wonder if the previous quality will be maintained. Time will tell.

And speaking of Facebook, I got this reminder of a chance meeting with an old friend that happened six years ago.

***And I do believe that’s the last time I saw Neil in person. I’m happy to report that he remains a regular reader of LTG and even chimes in with an occasional comment. Nice to see you!***

And that’s about it from here for now. I’m starting to wonder about tonight with Mary. She’s not been responding to my messages. Perhaps she’s had a change of heart. We’ll see.

UPDATE: Seems I also used the “What’s next?” title on the post welcoming in the New Year of 2019. The most interesting thing mentioned was my meeting Heidi. Damn, I’m still jonesing for that girl. Might need to try and up my game. Here boyfriend is recovering from a stroke in Scotland. Is that how you spell opportunity? Yeah, I know. I’m an asshole.

Hail Mary!

Posted on 24/July/2020 by John McCrarey

I used to be indecisive. Now I don’t know.

So, I had quite an interesting finish to my otherwise disappointing day yesterday. I had been out drowning my sorrows, starting at Cheap Charlies then finishing up at Mango’s where I enjoyed views like this:

***My mood had been improved considerably by the time I headed home.***

And on the walk back to my house I encountered an attractive young woman on the highway. That in and of itself is not so unusual I suppose, but for some reason, I greeted this one and she responded cheerfully. After this very brief exchange, I crossed the highway and continued homeward. And the next thing I knew, he was walking a few steps ahead of me! Well, I was full of beer courage and she was so damn sexy from behind that I couldn’t resist uttering a “sweet!” loud enough for her to hear. Then she stopped, turned around, and came back to me asking what I’d said.

I repeated that she looked sweet and sexy as she walked in front of me. She smiled and thanked me. Then I asked her if she was following me? She denied it and told me she was looking for a job. I took that as a hint and said I might be interested in hiring her for the night. And then we negotiated a price, or more precisely, she accepted my offer, and we caught a trike to my house. Now, it is very unusual to find freelance prostitutes walking the streets of Barretto. And this is the first I’ve ever engaged the services of one. But there was just something different about this one, who told me her name was Mary.

When we arrived home, I introduced Mary to my dogs and asked if she’d like something to drink. She told me she didn’t drink alcohol, so I got her a coke and I opened a beer for myself. She responded affirmatively when I asked if she was hungry so I made her a tuna sandwich. And then we had a nice conversation. My first surprise was that she is only 20 years old! That’s much younger than my preferred range of 30-50. Then Mary told me that she has one child, a boy of three who suffers from cerebral palsy. She got choked up when she told me that she had agreed to come with me because she needed money for his medicine.

The more we talked the clearer it became to me that she wasn’t a prostitute at all. Mary lives in Olongapo and had come to Barretto hoping to find work as a waitress. When I encountered her on the street she had just left an unsuccessful effort at Thumbstar bar. I was very much touched by both her innocence and her sweetness. She is definitely not cut out for work in a bar. She heard my helper upstairs and when I explained who she was, Mary asked if I would hire her too. I honestly told her I didn’t need another helper (I actually have two).

Mary had finished eating and it was getting late. I was tired, drunk, and horny so I took her upstairs to the bedroom. And there I was in for another surprise! No, she doesn’t have a penis. Geez. Mary was very shy and didn’t seem at all interested in fooling around. She didn’t even want to get undressed until I gave her a t-shirt to wear, and she removed her shorts and shirt from underneath it. When she finally laid down I began tenderly rubbing her body. When I got “down there”, Mary gently pushed my hand away and matter of factly said, “thank you for respecting me”.

What the hell? It looked like my day of disappointment was going to end in frustration. But there was something different about Mary. I never want a woman to feel obligated to have sex with me, even if I am paying for it. Prostitutes are usually good at pretending but I was now more convinced than ever that Mary had no understanding what I had “hired” her to do for me. Very odd indeed, but nothing to be done about it so I rolled over and went to sleep. I tried to get frisky again once during the night, but she again gently but firmly rejected my advances. Sleep was my best and only option and so I took it.

I awoke early in the morning (4 a.m. is early even for me!) and began to get dressed. She woke up as well and dressed herself, again under the t-shirt. I asked if she wanted breakfast, she nodded, and I went downstairs to make up some bacon, eggs, and toast. She joined me in the kitchen and watched, seemingly fascinated to see a man who could cook. Then we sat at the table to eat and talked some more.

Mary told me I was the first foreigner she had ever been with and she was glad I turned about to be a nice one. I asked her about her apparent lack of interest in sex and she responded that she never has sex the first time she meets someone. For some reason, I believe her and the whole transaction the night before had been based on a colossal misunderstanding. Mary talked about her struggles with her crippled child and paying the rent. She asked if I had any ideas about where she might find employment. I told her I didn’t think she was cut out for work in a bar with the possible exception of a place like Cheap Charlies where the girls are waitresses and work for drink commissions. Mary again said she was allergic to alcohol and I said most of the girls drink coke or sprite. She asked once more if I had any work available and I said not at the moment, but I’d think about it.

It was 5 a.m. now and the Jeepneys to Olongapo were running again, so we walked to the stop. I went to get her the cash I’d promised at 7/11 but they were closed. I asked if she wanted to accept less money or walk with me across town to another ATM. She wanted to walk for the cash. And she was very sweet, taking my hand as we made our way along the highway. To be honest, Mary has both the looks and the personality of someone I could really fall for. If she only she wasn’t just 20 years old!

Anyway, I paid her what we had agreed to (notwithstanding her lack of performance), we exchanged phone numbers, and she headed off for home. We’ve exchanged a few messages throughout the day and she asked if I was busy on Saturday. I asked why and she responded, “because I want to sleep with you”. So, I guess I’ve got plans with Mary for Saturday night.

I’m not sure where this is going to go. I’m too damn old to be her boyfriend, but maybe I can be her daddy. Sugar Daddy that is. The thought has occurred to me that I could engage her for some companionship a couple of times a week. I’m talking about more than sex here–joining me on my solitary hikes or watching some TV with me would be nice as well. In return for her assuaging my loneliness, I could offer some financial support to assist her and her child. That could be a win-win situation, don’t you think?

Nothing goes as planned

Posted on 23/July/2020 by John McCrarey

Or so at least it seems. Take today for example. I thought I’d be spending the afternoon with a lady friend, enjoying lunch and a movie here at my house. In preparation, I had to forgo my morning walk so I could cook the meal and download a movie. And then I get the message from Jhen saying she was on the way but couldn’t stay because she had to go back to Olongapo for her “assessment” day. The pain from that kick in the nuts precluded my asking what the hell that is.

I’ve known Jhen for most of the time I’ve lived here. She worked at the videoke joint I’d occasionally visit with my then-girlfriend before it closed down last year. Jhen and I became Facebook friends and would message on rare occasions. I never had an interest in her as a potential girlfriend but she was smart and witty and fun to chat with. Anyway, several days ago I get a message from her asking if by chance I had an old laptop I didn’t need. She’s starting a college program that has two days of classroom attendance and three days online. I told her I didn’t at the moment but I was looking to replace my current machine and would let her know. She thanked me and mentioned that classes would be starting soon.

So, I started looking around to see if I could buy a computer locally that suited my purposes and also consulted with a friend who is much techier than me. He is having one shipped from the USA soon and offered to let me join in on the deal. So, I went on Lazada (the Philippines Amazon more or less) to see what I could find. Nothing there I wanted, but on a whim, I ordered a mid-range laptop for Jhen. I was having second thoughts about why I would spend that kind of money (almost $400) on someone who is little more than an acquaintance. And then I gave myself the speech about coming here to make a difference, getting a degree can change a life long term, blah blah blah, so I went ahead with the purchase. When I told Jhen she was equal parts surprised and ecstatic. She said she didn’t know how to thank or repay me and I told her to do well in school and be successful in life.

The laptop was delivered to my house on Tuesday and we made arrangements for our get together today. It was going to be a simple lunch–grilled burgers with beans and a veggie. The movie I had downloaded for our viewing pleasure was Pay it Forward. I thought it would be a fun way to facilitate a discussion on how she could change the world, not only for herself but for others as well. Instead, she arrived, had a glass of water, I gave her the unopened box, she thanked me, then left.

I’m not going to lie about it. I was extremely disappointed, probably as much with myself as with her. I get these grand notions of doing good in my head and it always seems to come back and bite me in the ass. No good deed goes unpunished, indeed! Well, that’s on me too. True charity expects nothing in return. And that’s what I got in this case. When I think about how pathetic and needy I’ve become it’s downright depressing. Oh well. I truly do hope Jhen does well in school and if my gift in some small way helps make that happen it was money well spent.

I was going to title this post “Pay it Forward” but I checked and saw that I had used that heading back in April 2017. That post was me bragging about sending my future caregiver Loraine to school and the good things she was doing with that education. Reading that again didn’t improve my mood a bit. I guess it’s just my destiny to live this kind of life. I doubt I’m going to stop trying to make a difference in my community of unfortunates. I just need to find a better way to go about it.

I reckon that’s enough feeling sorry for myself for one day.

What’s up with that?

Posted on 22/July/2020 by John McCrarey

“I see the blind man said as he picked up the hammer and saw”

So this afternoon my social media outlets have been buzzing with news that the bars in Barretto are opening again today. I’m glad to hear it of course but couldn’t help but wonder ~~who got paid off~~ how that came about. It was especially surprising because the edict to close had come from Manila so the local officials had no say in the matter.

Just now the President of the Barrio Barretto Business Association explained that the Olongapo mayor and the Barretto barangay captain had approved the reopening plan with some caveats. Customers are limited to two drinks and the bars must serve some type of food. One bar already mentioned that their house specialty is popcorn. So, it appears that what is happening is that our local government leaders are thumbing their noses at the brownshirts in Manila by implementing the bar closure edict in such a way that all bars become defined as restaurants. I’ll give them props for creativity and we’ll see how long this lasts.

Last night I did my imbibing at “Gomans” which was open because it is technically a restaurant. I was encouraged to order at least an appetizer which I did (seafood chowder and it was delicious). As for the two-drink limit, they wouldn’t bring me a fresh bottle of beer until the old bottle was taken away. So, I guess it could be argued that I was always on my second bottle in a Groundhog Day kind of way. Hey, whatever works.

Today’s morning hike was limited to just me and Troy. We left from my house and had a pleasant hike up the ridge from Barretto, along My Bitch, and then down into the valley. Around 8K all told.

***What else do you need? This was new construction since the last time I’d been up this way several months ago. I especially like the upstairs loft.***

***Hey, you can see my house from up here! Well, at least a part of my roof showing behind the house on the left…***

As far as days go, this was a pretty good one. I’ve got a stroll through Barretto ahead of me yet and I’ll confirm which bars have indeed reopened. Might even quaff a brew or two while I’m at it.

Cheers!