I had some interesting company at “Gomans” last night. And some food for thought for dinner. Well, technically I was alone and I was drinking and not eating, but it was enjoyable all the same.

The person I was spending time with was Jessa and we did it through the messenger app. I’ve mentioned her here on the blog a few times these past couple of years, most recently in March.. In fact, it was our Facebook “friendiversary” that prompted me to re-initiate contact. Here’s a brief recap of our relationship.

I first met Jessa when she was working at Treasure Island. She actually remembers me from a tourist visit when I was with a girlfriend. When I first moved to the Philippines I was staying out on Baloy Beach so I was a regular customer at T.I. Anyway, I developed a bit of a crush for her but began dating someone else before I could pursue things with Jessa. When I broke up (the first time) I tried to see if Jessa might share any interest in a sexy older man such as myself. Oh, she’s always called me “Gwapo” (handsome in Tagalog) instead of John–such a sweet talker! So I wound up taking Jessa and her friends out to celebrate her 30th birthday. When I asked her out to dinner a few days later, she invited her friends along as well. I was expecting something more romantic and although I like her friends I was disappointed. I came to the conclusion that Jessa wasn’t serious about me and I moved on. Or more precisely, I went back to my former toxic relationship. And as I was to become painfully aware both of those moves were mistakes. Big surprise, huh?

So, the world kept on spinning around and I would occasionally hear from Jessa via Facebook. She spent some time in Dubai working but decided to return home because she missed her daughter. When we had last talked she mentioned being involved with a German guy and she was not surprised to hear things had gone south once again with the woman I was seeing. And that’s where things stood when we spent two hours or so chatting online last night.

Jessa was equally sympathetic to my plight and brutally honest about how stupidly blind I had been. She offered me encouragement and advised me to take my time in finding a replacement. She admonished me about both my aversion to being alone and my cowardice in not being open to taking a chance on love with the right woman. She of course reminded me that I had blown an opportunity to be with her as she awaited a pursuit from me that never came. Nothing I hadn’t told myself before or heard from other friends, including a regular commenter here. But I think I needed to hear it again to toughen up my resolve to avoid taking the “easy road” in the future.

One of the things that impressed me was Jessa’s command of English and willingness to engage in a meaningful conversation. My ex didn’t like to talk much and I only understood some of what she said–not a good combination. So, communication ability is going to be high on my list of qualities I hope to find in any future relationship.

Anyway, I came home feeling much more positive about things and I have Jessa to thank for that. I really opened up to her, both good and bad about myself, and she didn’t hesitate to engage in blunt and honest discourse. It definitely helped, although I know I’ve still got a long way to go to get to where I need and want to be. During our chat, I was reminded of what is probably my favorite Stephen King quote. At the end of the night, I shared it with her and thanked her for being an understanding ear.

“The most important things are the hardest to say. They are the things you get ashamed of, because words diminish them — words shrink things that seemed limitless when they were in your head to no more than living size when they’re brought out. But it’s more than that, isn’t it? The most important things lie too close to wherever your secret heart is buried, like landmarks to a treasure your enemies would love to steal away. And you may make revelations that cost you dearly only to have people look at you in a funny way, not understanding what you’ve said at all, or why you thought it was so important that you almost cried while you were saying it. That’s the worst, I think. When the secret stays locked within not for want of a teller but for want of an understanding ear.”

Still fighting the blues I’m afraid. But meanwhile, life goes on.

So there had been a moratorium on visa extensions during the enhanced quarantine. With the downgrade to general quarantine status, I was provided 30 days in which to visit the immigration office. I did so this morning.

I completed the paperwork for the standard 60-day tourist visa extension and waited for my turn in line. I was a little surprised by the fee of 4500 pesos ($90) as it is usually around 3000 pesos. Oh well. Once I was back in the vehicle and looked at my receipt I was irked to see my new visa is only valid until June 29. Talk about paying more for less! All I can figure is they granted the 60 days from the date my previous visa expired. Oh well, another trip to immigration is in my near future.

Upon returning home I changed clothes (you are supposed to wear long pants to immigration) and walked to Treasure Island on Baloy Beach. They are kinda sorta open again in an under the table kinda way. My motive for going to T.I. was to see a woman I’ve had the hots for in the past and who maybe liked me as well during a period when I was not available. I wrote a little about Ilene here. She used to come out and Hash with us on a regular basis and even earned her Hash name: Hot to Trot.

Anyway, with the reduced clientele at T.I., Ilene was the only person working (she normally is a receptionist). There were only a couple of other customers sitting at the beachside tables so I plopped down at the bar. Ilene seemed happy to see me so I ordered up a beer and a menu. See served the beer in a plastic glass so it wouldn’t appear I was actually drinking beer. I offered to treat her to some lunch but she declined. After a little chitchat, I asked how things were going with the boyfriend. She said he was still in Canada but hoped to return next month. I swallowed my disappointment and offered up some positive-sounding words. She then told me that the boyfriend warned her he would be making an occasional trip to Manila and Angeles City. And as everybody knows, there is only one reason to go to AC–the whores. She said he expected her to be understanding. Sensing an opportunity I asked her if she told him she would also occasionally be seeing her old Hash friend. She laughed and said something along the lines of “right”. She got called away by a customer at that point. When she returned I ordered a hamburger. Then she came back and told me the cook said he couldn’t do a hamburger “yet”. What the hell? Well, if he couldn’t do the burger I wasn’t wanting anything else off the menu either–especially the less popular stuff. Another guy came in and pulled up a chair near the reception desk which I thought a little odd. But after she went over to serve him I saw that they were acquainted and she chatted away while I looked at my empty beer glass.

Needless to say, I don’t see Ilene joining me in any future Hash. Oh well, onward to the next one I suppose.

Speaking of the Hash, here are some photos from yesterday’s COVID Run #4.

That’s where things stand as of now. I reckon I’ll head on over to “Gomans” to drink some beers and look the part of the lonely guy. It’s what I do best!

Oh, and about the title to this post. Just before I sat down here to blog I took a nap. And just before I woke up I was dreaming. And while I don’t remember much about the dream, I do remember this song was playing in the background of whatever drama my REM-sleep generated. I have no idea why.

There is a town in north Ontario,
With dream comfort memory to spare,
And in my mind
I still need a place to go,
All my changes were there.

Blue, blue windows behind the stars,
Yellow moon on the rise,
Big birds flying across the sky,
Throwing shadows on our eyes.
Leave us

Helpless, helpless, helpless
Baby can you hear me now?
The chains are locked
and tied across the door,
Baby, sing with me somehow.

No matter how much you push the envelope, it’ll still be stationery.

That’s about as good as it’s gonna get around here today. Another lockdown weekend starting at 2:00 today. Complaining won’t change that fact, so maybe I can try to learn something. This short video explaining Jean-Paul Sartre’s ideas on mauvasie foi was my first exposure (that I recall anyway) to this philosophy:

Yeah, I know he was a commie, but even a stopped clock is right twice a day. Plus, I got to learn a little more French!

Speaking of which, if you missed it in the comments to yesterday’s post, Kevin Kim gave a brief history of the origin of the word Flotsam.

Yeah, the “flot” root is a clue that flotsam floats. Jetsam might or might not be debris that washes ashore, but it’s usually thrown overboard. For French speakers, it’s easy to remember that the verb flotter means “to float” and jeter means “to throw,” so a “franglais” mnemonic would be that flotsam always floats while jetsam is cast (i.e., thrown) away—maybe to float, maybe to wash ashore.

English words sometimes change to more clearly reflect their ancient roots. For example, the verb “to float” contains an “a” next to the “o,” but that “a” drops off in the noun “flotation,” whose “flot” root brings us closer to the Latin original. Same goes for the “u” in “devour,” which drops off the -vor- (= consume) root in words like “carnivore” and “voracious.”

Good stuff!

I started the day early, getting up at 0500 and the full moon was there to greet me:

I scrolled through my Facebook feed while enjoying my morning coffee. For some reason I couldn’t stop watching this:

I also enjoyed this, but for different reasons:

Speaking of masks, that whole “it’s what’s inside that counts” belief is truer than ever.

Nothing exciting to report from my morning walk, my standard trek around Barretto and down Baloy beach. Well, I did find this bench “interesting”:

Speaking of walking, here are a couple more pictures from yesterday that Scott posted:

That’s about it from here for today. The steaks last night were about as tender as I’ve had here, although I did overcook them a tad (had a flaming grill to contend with). It’s been years and years since I’ve made spaghetti at home and that’s just what I intend to do now. Alas, no garlic bread though.

I don’t know any Bad Faith songs, but this is my favorite from Blind Faith:

As I walked along the water today looking at the various and sundry items that had washed ashore, the phrase “flotsam and jetsam” occurred to me. In a general sense, I knew what it meant but I wasn’t sure what the difference between the two terms actually was. I speculated that flotsam might be the crap on the beach, while jetsam was still floating offshore. When I got home I looked it up:

Flotsam is defined as debris in the water that was not deliberately thrown overboard, often as a result from a shipwreck or accident. Jetsam describes debris that was deliberately thrown overboard by a crew of a ship in distress, most often to lighten the ship’s load.

So, I guess I was wrong on all counts. I doubt any of the crap I saw today was thrown overboard, deliberately or otherwise. I am pretty sure it was all just old-fashioned litter–either tossed into a river to wash to the sea or left behind after a beach outing in typical Filipino fashion. But at least I learned something new today!

Restaurants are beginning to open back up under some pretty stringent general quarantine rules, most notably only seating up to 50% capacity. Still, I suppose half is better than none. I’m not going to go off on one of my rants about the idiocy of the government restrictions, I promise. But even under the lessened standards, these “leaders” keep doing really stupid shit. Like yesterday, almost a week into the modified quarantine, the powers that be changed the rules:

Even under the most relaxed form of community quarantine, the elderly, children, pregnant women, and persons with certain health conditions are prohibited from leaving their homes save for work or essential activities.

The national coronavirus task force made this change to the Omnibus Guidelines through its 43rd resolution, said Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque on Thursday, June 4.

“The old guidelines said every household member is allowed to leave their homes [under modified general community quarantine]. There was an amendment. In Resolution No. 43, it remains that youths aged 21 years old and below, seniors 60 years old and above, can’t go out subject to exception of necessities and to work,” said Roque in Filipino.

I ignored those provisions previously and I will continue to do so now. It is just one more example of ignorance in action. It’s better in the Philippines!

Late afternoon yesterday found me beachside at “Goman’s” enjoying some nice cold beers:

This morning my walking group decided we’d hike the beach from Barretto to the lighthouse at the entrance to the old Navy base.

But other than that, it wasn’t a bad hike.

I just didn’t feel like trudging through the sand and wading in the water again. So, I said my goodbyes and headed down the highway. I think the beach route is shorter but you can make better time on the highway. When I was about 2K from Barretto I glimpsed this out of the corner of my eye:

I went over to take a closer look and sure enough, it was the homeless woman I call “mama”. I mentioned her previously on the blog. I’ve been throwing some pesos her way whenever I see her for several years now. But this is the first time I’ve seen her so far out of town. That old gal must get in more steps every day than I do!

That encounter might have been the highlight of my walk.

Welp, here it is Friday night again (at least until the 7:00 p.m. curfew). And what’s a healthy old bugger like me to do but go out and look at the ocean some. That’s thirsty work, so I pull up a seat at “Goman’s” and quaff some brews. Then when I get back home I’ll grill up the steaks I’ve got marinating in the fridge.

It may not be much of a life, but it’s the best one I’ve got. Thanks for dropping by and letting me share it with you.

I need a crowd of people,
but I can’t face them
day to day,
I need a crowd of people,
but I can’t face them
day to day.
Though my problems
are meaningless,
that don’t make them
go away.
I need a crowd of people,
but I can’t face them
day to day.

Now I’m livin’
out here on the beach,
but those seagulls are
still out of reach.

‘Cause the world is turnin’,
I hope it don’t turn away.

What can I say that hasn’t been said before? I don’t know if this case of the blahs is being driven by the quarantine limitations or just my laziness and lack of imagination. But damn, if I’m getting bored writing about my so-called life it must be excruciating to read about it. You have my heartfelt condolences for that!

I could always write about politics and the insanity that is currently taking place back in my homeland. But honestly, others are doing that better than I ever could and I really, really don’t want to focus on all that drama from so far away. I can barely even look at my Facebook feed these days. My two cents is that if you can’t tell the difference between a protest and a riot you are either willfully ignorant or simply don’t know the difference between right and wrong. Sadly, the ones engaging in violence are making things worse by driving the people who need to come together to find solutions further apart. And that’s all I’ve got to say about that.

I guess in the category of “something different”, I watched a newly released Netflix movie called “The Wrong Missy”. I downloaded it because a friend back in Korea highly recommended it. I don’t. I’m no reviewer, but all I can say is that it was both mildly entertaining and somewhat irritating to watch. In fact, if you want to sample two minutes from the trailer you’ll get equal measures of both:

I’m also watching a film called “Colombiana”. By that I mean I started last night and got about halfway through before taking a break. I guess that’s a review of sorts, isn’t it? I do intend to finish the movie though. I didn’t know it was a French film until I went to get the Wikipedia link above. The best part of the movie by far is Zoe Zaldana, she is a real hottie.

What else have I got? Well, a few shots from yesterday’s hike if you please:

Prior to the hike, I took my boys down to Baloy beach so they could enjoy some sun and sand.

I had a selfish motivation as well. Some of the restaurants are beginning to open up again on a limited basis, including Treasure Island. I had me a hankering for one of their breakfasts I used to enjoy on a regular basis. Alas, the owner told me the cook didn’t arrive until 9:00. Oh well, next time.

Have I posted this before?

I’m looking for something like this too!

And that’s just about all I’ve got for now. Well, there is this photo of Barrio Barretto pre-World War II.

Things can always change. Perhaps one day I’ll long for the sameness I didn’t appreciate at the time.

Not as sexy as it sounds I’m afraid.

It was another hot day, the trail was short but hard, and when I finished I was wet with sweat. So there’s your truth in advertising!

So, I guess I delivered what I promised in the title of this post after all!

Made it through yet another total lockdown Sunday. There’s something about not being able to do anything that makes me not want to do anything. Either that or I’m just lazy. Well, May is over and my resolution for June is to show some self-discipline and get back into my routines. My average daily step count is way down and I need to kick myself in the ass and put in the kilometers.

The day wasn’t a total loss as I did binge watch my way through the final season of Game of Thrones. I will share my thoughts on the ending in a future post, but the short version, for now, is (spoiler alert): BULLSHIT!

I’m pressed for time this morning because I’ll be participating in COVID Hash Run #3 today. The noon start time is a pain in the ass, especially since I’ll have a 45-minute hike to get to the meeting place. Well, I guess that’s one way to get the step count back up where it belongs. There was some controversy after last week’s Hash. I had already left for home so didn’t witness it, but apparently the Grandmaster got pissed because people were being too rowdy in the back of the Hashmobile on the ride back into town after the circle. He’s apparently resigned as a result so I’m not sure what is in store for today. Will be interesting to see how this plays out.

Today’s “interesting” photo comes from my morning dog walk. A new house is under construction in the neighborhood and I’ve got a bad feeling about the future.

Maybe it’s just my warped sense of humor, but I found this quite funny:

And oh yeah, does anyone not believe these worldwide quarantine measures are a bunch of crap? We need to go old school on this virus!

That’s all folks!

And not just the ones in my head.

An odd afternoon yesterday. I hadn’t heard from my wife in several months and then received a message wishing me a happy birthday. My birthday is in August. Apparently she saw my party post here or on Facebook and assumed it was for me. Anyway, we exchanged some pleasantries and it was mostly good to hear from her again. I try not to think about how much I miss that old life that has been dead and buried for years now.

I also got an email from a woman I loved 13 years ago. It wasn’t so nice. She demanded that I delete a photo of her from a post I wrote here well over a year ago. I thought about it long and hard, sought out some advice, slept on it, and ultimately decided to leave the picture where it is. I did remove her name from that post which should make her invisible to a Google search. Had she made a polite request of me I probably would have done what she asked. I don’t respond well to being told what to do in a rude manner though. I did search my email archives to verify her claim that she had asked several times for the photo to be removed and as I expected, she had not. In fact, the last time we had corresponded was in 2008. In that exchange, she apologized for the manner in which she had ended our relationship and we both professed our love for one another. That was a better way to leave things than her latest correspondence. I found that missive unworthy of response. Well, I guess this post is my response.

In other unrelated news, when I first started playing darts in Itaewon, “Petro” Petrocelli was the President of the Seoul International Dart League and one of my mentors. He’s been back in the USA for quite some time now and is a sponsored professional darter in Ohio. His wife is a Filipina and I still hear from him occasionally on Facebook.

In darts, you have to double out. I just doubled down. Su Mi.

In quarantine news, the President announced last night that all of central Luzon, including Manila, would be downgraded from the enhanced level to general quarantine status. From what I’ve been reading that’s not going to make a bit of difference for me. Well, there are some rumors that restaurants will be able to offer dine-in service, at 50% capacity. We’ll see.

This one is for you too, Kevin:

Speaking of time, we are all going to run out of it someday. I hope that when I go I’ll be able to give a meaningful gift like this to someone who cares for me:

Does this video from the birthday party work on your computer?

As bad as I get, I’ll never be a Joe Biden though:

That’s all I’ve got for now. I suspect it is more than enough.

I hosted a birthday party at my place yesterday afternoon. It was by far the largest gathering I’ve ever had at my house. But more about that event later in this post.

Tuesday afternoon I did some shopping. Started out at the appliance store where I purchased this beauty:

I also purchased a new blender. I knew it was low-quality made in China crap, but I didn’t have much else to choose from. It was just $25 and I figured it would get me through until I could buy something more powerful. Nope. I burned out the motor on my first attempt to make smoothies. Damn it!

I also visited the DiviMart to pick up some cheap plastic chairs and a table to accommodate my party guests. I got what I was looking for and figured I was good to go so off I went. Unloaded my driver’s car and settled in for some season 7 viewing of Game of Thrones.

So the big party day arrived with the festivities scheduled to begin in the early afternoon. But the house started filling up with Filipinas in the morning hours and they set about preparing the birthday feast. I had a walk scheduled for 10 a.m. so I wished them well in their endeavors and set out for my trek.

In addition to my regular walking mates Jim and Scott, we were joined by Troy and his gal Jessa and a former Hasher named Harry.

When we arrived back at the house the party was in full swing. The celebration was by and for a Filipina so us guys weren’t really relevant to the gals in attendance. Still, we got to eat the food and drink the beers. Well, the beers were mine anyway.

Some of the Filipinas were drinking Emperador, a popular local rum. The rest of us were drinking beer. Lots of beer! I had 36 bottles in the house at the start. And then we sent out for 48 more. Had a few more people show up than I anticipated and they all came thirsty. Apparently.

Maybe not so coincidentally, the night did not end without incident. It began with an accident that may have been an omen. Those chairs and stools I purchased for the party? Well, I was sitting on one of the stools, until I wasn’t.

As curfew approached and the beer ran out (again) people started heading home. Most had walked to my place (or taken a trike). One guest drove though. I didn’t pay much attention to his condition when he departed but a little while later I got a message from his angry girlfriend. It seems my guest had hit someone with his car and kept on going. She said I shouldn’t have allowed him to drive drunk. And she’s right about that. He seemed fine to me when he left but then again, I’m sure I was drunk by then and wouldn’t have known the difference. Of course, I feel bad about it though.

So, this morning he tells me that he apparently clipped a woman’s arm as she walked. A woman who just happens to be a barangay official and is also acquainted with his girlfriend. The girlfriend went to the injured woman’s house last night and did her best to smooth things over. This morning he went to the barangay and was cited for a quarantine violation, driving under the influence, and leaving the scene of an accident. I’m not sure what happens next, but he wasn’t jailed at least. I expect a fine and compensation to the victim is in his future. Hopefully nothing more severe.

One of the last things I remember from last night was Harry passed out on the dining room floor.

I actually don’t know Harry that well so the morning encounter was a little weird. I offered some coffee which he declined. He said he was waiting for daylight before making his way back home and went to lie down on the couch. He left about an hour later without saying anything.

Meanwhile, I went to do my morning internet rituals. I had a bit of a hangover and low energy, but otherwise was feeling okay. And then someone sent me the last photograph taken of me at the party:

Not much else I can say in my defense. It was a good party. A nice break from the boring lockdown routines. And not something I’ll be doing again anytime soon.

Promise.

One of the downsides of the COVID Hash experience is the 12:00 p.m. start time. Well, since I have to meet up on the mountain, I need to leave the house at 11:30. No big deal except this is my siesta time and my body is giving me a big WTF? right now as I prepare to head out. Man, I’m becoming such a whiner in my old age. And don’t give me that “becoming?” bullshit!

Today’s hike will be at least in part a reprise of my morning jaunt. I went up on My Bitch to deliver some goods to my mountain family.

So, some things are so stupid they make you laugh while you are shaking your head in disbelief. The latest from the Department of Tourism is this gem of wisdom: When hotels are allowed to reopen they will be limited to only two guests per room. So, I’m picturing a Filipino family driving up to Barretto from Manila for a weekend at the beach. Mom and Dan and two kids in the back seat. They book the standard room with two queen beds at Treasure Island. And then are told the kids can’t share the room. But that long drive from Manila all together in the car is fine. What bullshit!

Ah well, stupid is as stupid does I suppose. Time for me to get stupid now and hang out with a dozen or more people for some hiking and just as importantly, some drinking this afternoon. I’m not wearing a mask on trail but I’ll try and keep my distance. Luckily, I’m a slowpoke and will likely be bringing up the rear.

I’ll let you know how things work out tomorrow.

So, I guess there have been a couple of milestones on the way to the “new normal”, whatever in the hell that turns out to be. We are just a little over one week into the general (versus enhanced) community quarantine. More businesses have been allowed to open, trikes are allowed to operate again (limited to one passenger) and there is a general feeling of the old hustle and bustle returning. Hell, it’s starting to get dangerous to cross the highway, just like in the good old days. But we ain’t there yet.

No hotels or bars are allowed to have guests yet and restaurants are still limited to takeout only. Some businesses aren’t going to reopen at all, but maybe that’s best for the survivors since the customer base is going to be diminished. The laundry I used to use reopened and I saw the owner as I passed by the other day. She asked when I was going to bring in my clothes again. I had to confess that my helpers are now doing my laundry and I promised to buy them a machine. You could see the disappointment on her face. Oh well.

It’s not all bad news though. “Goman’s”, that hotel/restaurant/bar I used to frequent early in the quarantine, has once again reopened, albeit on the sly. I popped in because I saw the plywood blocking the door had been removed. Turns out that was just because they were doing some construction work inside. Anyway, they welcomed me back, told me to keep quiet about it, and happily served me the San Miguel Zero beer I’ve been craving.

Turns out my old Speakeasy place is also still open. As I suspected, when the manager called to tell me they were closed, he meant they were closed to me. That’s fine. I prefer Goman’s anyway. Also, with the alcohol ban lifted it’s easier to keep the fridge full of cold ones at home. Best of all the prices have dropped back into the normal range now.

So, that’s the update on the quarantine situation. In other news, there are some nice aspects to staying home once you get acclimated to it.

And today I binge-watched seven episodes of season six of Game of Thrones.

I’ll save my thoughts on some of the tangents the series has taken for when I’m sober another day.

I’m also getting to spend more time with my boys here at home.

I didn’t do any walking today except for the morning dog exercise. I did take a couple of “interesting” photographs during that excursion though. It seems the rainstorm yesterday had some impact in the neighborhood.

And there you have it, life goes on and we adjust as necessary I suppose. COVID Hash run #2 is on tap for tomorrow. That will get my lazy ass off the couch and out of the house at least.

Sorry, I’ll have a more substantial post (well, comparatively speaking) tomorrow. For now, I’ll just report that it is raining hard. I do believe we have officially entered rainy season. This will allow me to stop complaining about the heat. Damn it! Will this rain ever stop?

Anyway, I’d almost completed my morning walk before the downpour commenced. The weekend lockdown commenced at 2:00, so I had to forego my afternoon hike. Well, I did manage to score three more cases of beer today at least. And prices are back to almost normal.

I cooked up some pulled pork which went well with the conclusion of Season 5 of Game of Thrones. I was very surprised to see Jon Snow’s demise. About the only character with character. I guess Billy Joel was right when he sang only the good die young.

Speaking of death, you’d think worrying about the COVID would be enough, but today I found some info about something even more dangerous:

Time to load up Season 6. I’ll try and do better tomorrow!

They say there’s a heaven for those who will wait
Some say it’s better but I say it ain’t
I’d rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints
The sinners are much more fun…
You know that only the good die young

We (Jim, Scott, and me) did our traditional Saturday hike today so as to avoid bumping up against the weekend curfew. Not that it would have mattered because we wound up going short and finished by noon. It was all pretty hot and intense though so that was enough.

Well, rules are rules and we should all just follow orders I suppose.

I’m on record as stating just how ridiculous the mask-wearing requirements truly are, especially since most of the masks are homemade and porous. So this pretty much captures the preventative value of donning the mask:

That’s really all I’ve got for now. I do have some news about the easing of the quarantine (or perhaps the ease of violating the quarantine) I’ll share with you tomorrow. Now some beer drinking beckons me (and yes, that last sentence is related to the previous sentence).

Stay tuned!

A wise man* once said, “he who has nothing to say should not say it”. Like that’s ever stopped me!

Grocery shopping today and my, what a difference a week makes. As we pulled up the first thing I noticed was no line waiting to get inside. It turns out that with the mall now opening at 10:00; earlier grocery shoppers must use the back entrance to the store. Walked around to that door and still no line! Of course, the store still sucks but at least I didn’t have to wait long to be disappointed. What kind of supermarket doesn’t stock Italian dressing for chrissakes?

Actually, I was also relieved that my age didn’t come up. Last week I used being an old fart to my advantage, bypassing the line by claiming senior privilege. Under the new quarantine rules, oldsters over 60 are supposed to stay home altogether. So I knew I wouldn’t be invoking the senior shortcut but I read about some people being turned away from stores in Barretto because of their age. Anyway, at least for today that turned out to be a non-issue.

I was going to cook up some pulled pork yesterday but discovered I was out of one of the key ingredients–brown sugar. I bought some today and will do the pork roast in the crockpot tomorrow. Last night I had takeout food delivered to my door for the first time ever in the Philippines. I knew the restaurant, Foodies, was good having ordered off their menu many times back in my Cheap Charlies days. And for some reason, I had a hankering for lasagna, a dish I hadn’t tried from Foodies before. The food arrived promptly but that is the best I can say about it.

The innards were okay I guess, but the pasta shell was hard and stiff to the point of being nearly inedible. And I’m not sure what was up with the color but I found it off-putting. I guess they didn’t use a tomato-based sauce or something. Anyway, lesson learned. Next time I’ll order stuff that I know is good, like the beef stew or meat pies.

So Facebook reminded me that I posted this seven years ago:

I got to wondering if I had posted this on the blog back then. And sure enough, I had, along with the story of how I learned to pronounce “ascertain”. Hint: it is NOT as certain.

I also saw this Ayn Rand meme on Facebook. What really struck me is how spot-on it is regarding the way things work here in the Philippines.

This is why a country rich in resources and cheap labor will always be a third world nation. That and the people in charge seem to be spectacularly stupid. The way the quarantine has been implemented is just the latest example of that sad fact.

Oh well, still happy to be here. Mostly.

*It wasn’t really a wise man, I just made that up. But you knew that, didn’t you?

I’m not an expert on the provenance of words, especially words that aren’t in English. So, take c’est la vie for instance. I mean, I understand that it translates as “such is life”, but to what degree does it actually express misfortune? I’m sure you wouldn’t tell someone who just lost a loved one
“c’est la vie“, even though that’s technically true. Dying is a part of life after all. Anyway, for purposes of this post c’est la vie is expressed with a shrug and an implied “oh well”. Things are what they are whether you like them or not.

Take last night for instance. I’m of course stuck at home as usual. Right around 5:00 I pop the top off a bottle of beer, settle down on the couch, turn on the TV, and start watching the next episode of Game of Thrones. And then the power goes out. Damn, I hate when that happens. “Brownouts” as they are called here. Fortunately, it happens less often than I expected when moving to the third world. And generally speaking, the brownouts usually last for less than an hour. I was concerned though because this one occurred after 5:00, so I was pretty sure it wasn’t scheduled maintenance. After waiting a bit it was getting hot in the house. So I decided to walk down to the guard shack at the front gate to see if they knew what was going on.

Anyway, the guard said Zamelco (Zambales Electric Co-op) had been notified, but he had no idea when they’d be out. Nothing to do but light some candles, sit outside, drink beers before they get hot, and wait. I did get more than a little concerned when I noticed most of the other houses around me had power and that the street lights were working. Usually, it’s an all or nothing type deal. My next-door neighbor came out and told me she had also called Zamelco and was told a truck was on the way. And about thirty minutes later power was indeed restored.

I finished watching episode 3 of season 5 and then noticed that I had someone managed to break the two vape pens in my pocket. Must have sat on them wrong, but they were irreparable. That’s a pretty big problem because I can’t get replacements here and I have pretty much depleted my backup supply. Oh well.

I guess on the grand scale of tragedies, I’m doing pretty well though. Were it not for my petty complaints what would I have to blog about, right?

Here’s today’s “interesting” photo.

I don’t know how Game of Thrones will turn out, but I was happy to see that the descendants of the Stark family are doing well:

I’m not sure if this constitutes a bright side or not, but it seems the pandemic has had an impact on the litter issues here in the Philippines:

This cartoon made me miss those glorious nights in the bars charming the sexy young bargirls with my good looks and wit:

Man: Haven’t I seen you someplace before?
Woman: Yes, that’s why I don’t go there anymore.
Man: Is this seat empty?
Woman: Yes, and this one will be if you sit down.
Man: Your place or mine?
Woman: Both. You go to yours, and I’ll go to mine.
Man: So, what do you do for a living?
Woman: I’m a female impersonator.
Man: Hey baby, what’s your sign?
Woman: Do not enter.
Man: How do you like your eggs in the morning?
Woman: Unfertilized.
Man: Your body is like a temple.
Woman: Sorry, there are no services today.
Man: I would go to the end of the world for you.
Woman: But would you stay there?
Man: If I could see you naked, I’d die happy.
Woman: If I saw you naked, I’d probably die laughing.

Well, don’t judge me on my love life alone. In fact, I’m thinking about taking the archives of LTG and turning them into an autobiography. I’ve even got a title picked out:

Such is life.

Life’s a beach. Oops, I spelled bitch wrong.

In my last post, I naively speculated that perhaps my run of things going broke in the night might be over. Turns out there were some holes in that theory. Like these:

As you have likely surmised the two holes are related. My helper noticed the ceiling was discolored and sagging. Luckily, she knew someone in the biz and he came out and cut a hole to see what was up. Turns out the toilet in the master bath was leaking. He spent most of Saturday making repairs. Cost me 700 pesos for the labor ($14.) and 2000 pesos ($20) for the materials. The job still isn’t finished though as I’m told the repairs “need to dry”. Which meant I was peeing off the upstairs deck last night since I’m too lazy to walk to the downstairs bathroom. Exciting times, eh?

This is the first weekend of the new normal around here, which basically means my hike on Saturday was mostly legal as the weekend lockdown didn’t begin until 2:00 p.m. It was just Scott and I and since the sky was threatening rain we confined ourselves to flat city streets and Baloy Beach.

Last night I fired up the grill and this was the result:

Tonight I was grilling chicken and the grill quit working. Hopefully, it is only out of gas, but I have my doubts since it hasn’t been very long since my last refill. We’ll see if my string of bad luck continues.

Spent a very lazy Sunday binge-watching Game of Thrones. I’m through season four now and that puts me into new territory. I recall from several years ago watching the episode where Joffrey was poisoned, but since then I’m seeing the storyline for the first time. Good stuff. I’ve got an old man’s ears now and the torrents I downloaded from Pirate Bay apparently don’t have subtitles which makes things a little hard to follow sometimes. Especially when Khalessi is speaking whatever the hell language she shares with the natives. Still enjoying it though.

And there you have another report from my locked-down life. But before I go, let me share some stuff you might like almost as much as I did.

He that would make his own liberty secure, must guard even his enemy from oppression; for if he violates this duty, he establishes a precedent that will reach to himself.
–Thomas Paine

Sometimes it seems like our founders are speaking to us from the grave as a reminder to stand up for what is important. Steve, the Englishman who doesn’t drink, left the following comment to my post on Facebook:

What does that mean in English?

Eh, even after all these years the Brits still don’t get it. Go worship your Queen or something!

And here’s a public service announcement from someone who knows what they are talking about:

A little political humor for your viewing pleasure:

And finally, I found this pretty punny:

We are going to do a first-ever Quarantine Hash tomorrow. Not sure of the details, just that we are meeting up on the mountain. I’m sure it will be a small group. Look for a full report and photos after we’re done.

Peace out!