All Saints Day is apparently a big deal here in this predominately Catholic country. Who knew?

I took a Jeepney out to the mall yesterday morning. Got there a little before the assumed opening time of 10 a.m. Nope, a late opening (noon) due to the holiday. So, I took a goodly long walk around the old Navy base then popped in here for lunch:

Returned to the now open mall in search of some new shoes. I usually plan to just re-stock on all my personal needs during my annual trip to the USA. I decided not to go this year, so it’s time to see how the locals do it. I found a nice pair of New Balance sneakers to wear for everyday use. The mall also has a Merrill store which is my preferred brand for hiking shoes. Saw some I like but don’t need any just yet. The also had a Nike and Columbia store. I’m boycotting Nike and the Columbia store didn’t have much in the sizes I require. Anyway, I got what I came for this trip. Praise be to the saints of shopping!

So, it occurs to me that in my self-indulgence I’ve been negligent when it comes to sharing with you some insights into Filipino culture. And what better way to do that than through song? Mikey Bustos is a very popular actor/comedian here in the PI. In the video “If Freddie Mercury were Filipino” he hilariously depicts some of the things that make the Philippines unique, especially the food.

HaHa, when I went to pull that video, I see he’s done parodies of Lady Gaga and Michael Jackson too! So much culture, so little time! Saints preserve us!

Speaking of culture, Kevin Kim has a post about learning the native language of the country in which you reside. Now, I’ve learned a handful of words in Tagalog. But Visayan and Cebuano are also widely spoken here (depending on where you are in the country). Which is why English is supposed to be the common tongue in the Philippines. I’m working at getting better in that one at least! That doesn’t make me a saint, I know.

Hey, do you want to see my dogs?

They are not perfect, but they love me like I’m a saint. That’s good enough for me!

Overall, a very nice Sausage Walkers adventure yesterday. We took the Hashmobile 25 minutes out of town and walked back. Our path was for the most part along the banks of the Matain river in an area I had not previously walked. I always enjoy new vistas.

Well, it wasn’t entirely new. When the truck pulled off the roadway I spotted an all too familiar bridge. One that on a previous long ago walk I had refused to cross, subjecting me to some good-natured derision from my fellow hikers. Once I had confirmed that it was, in fact, the same bridge and it was indeed the plan that we should cross, I came to the same conclusion I had back then–a big NOPE! This time several others in our group agreed that discretion actually is the better part of valor and joined me on an alternative hike a few meters upriver for a more suitable crossing.

It’s similar to this “stairway to heaven” video Kevin Kim shared on his blog. At least for me.

Anyway, the group re-formed and we went on our way (the last time I’d avoided this bridge, we turned left. Yesterday we turned right. Hence, a new trail for me).

Oh, and Happy Halloween! I’ll be going to a party tonight at Queen Victoria bar. Everyone keeps asking if I’m going to dress up, so I guess I will. Pictures tomorrow!

And a quick update on Ilene. Ran into her last night at Cheap Charlies. She was with Stuart, another member of the Wednesday walking group. He asked me if I’d mind taking a photo. Well, of course I wouldn’t mind.

I made my way out to Baloy Beach yesterday afternoon and visited the recently re-opened floating bar called Kokomo’s. It’s the first one out this season (Blue Rock and Arizona also feature floating bars). I enjoy the ambiance of drinking my beers on the water for some reason.

And once I was on board I had a bit of a surprise. Amongst the dozen or so working girls young women waiting for customers were two gals I first met at the Hash–Arcel (Subic Ice Queen) and Julica (Libre Boom Boom).

And there you have an update on the drunken portion of my life. And speaking of dogs (ahem), how about these:

My dogs ain’t heroes or anything, so I guess I don’t have to worry about whatever shady things they may have done being exposed by the likes of CNN.

Now, wasn’t that fun?

Off the Florida Keys, there’s a place called Kokomo
That’s where you want to go to get away from it all
Bodies in the sand, tropical drink melting in your hand
We’ll be falling in love to the rhythm of a steel drum band
Down in Kokomo

Aruba, Jamaica, oh I want to take you to
Bermuda, Bahama, come on pretty mama
Key Largo, Montego, baby why don’t we go
oh I want to take you down to
Kokomo, we’ll get there fast and then we’ll take it slow
That’s where we want to go, way down in Kokomo

I was officially a Hare yesterday (by officially I mean I didn’t have to pay Hash dues, Hares are free) but it was all Scott (Pubic Head) and Jim (Blow My Pipe) doing the heavy lifting, I was just along to assist. The big news was that it was Scott’s 184th time in the saddle as a Hare, making him the most prolific Hare in the history of the Subic Bay Hash House Harriers. Congrats!

With all that experience there are very few trails that Scott hasn’t hiked. He’s like a freakin’ encyclopedia on Hashing and actually maintains an electronic library of Hash trails going back years. Still, I was a little surprised when he declined my offer to go out and do some scouting on Sunday. Instead, he sent me a map of his intended path and said we’d mark it Monday morning. Alrighty then.

So we gathered at the appointed hour (0800) at Johansson’s. Grabbed the jugs of powder, chalk, and shredded paper then caught a Jeepney to the trailhead in Olongapo City.

I personally prefer to not have to be transported to start a Hash run. As uncomfortable as a Jeepney might be, that f’n Hashmobile is much worse. I asked Scott what we’d do if the number of Hashers exceeded the Hash truck capacity and he just shrugged and said they could take a Jeepney. Again, it wasn’t my trail so I didn’t argue.

We came down from the first hill at a spot on the highway different from where Scott intended. He was able to recalibrate and shortly thereafter we began our second ascent of the day. And it was a steep motherfucker! Quite surprising really. Some Hares have a nasty reputation for killer trails. Old dudes like Scott and me are thought to be saner. Usually, that’s the case. Not so much yesterday, at least on the second hill.

One thing I did like about the trail was that we had a portion where we walked the beach.

Anyway, when it was all said and done the trail came in at 5.5 kilometers.

The feedback from the Hashers was mostly positive and with just a couple of exceptions, folks did not have difficulty following the trail. And most importantly, no one got injured. When I Hare I always worry about that. Heh, it’s kinda like being a parent I suppose. All’s well that ends well!

When I got back home after laying trail I was hungry. Had some leftover pulled pork in the fridge, so…

What else? Well, Facebook shared this memory from three years ago:

Up for a little political humor?

Okay, enough of that bullshit. I am fortunate to live in the Philippines from where most of the insanity back home can be ignored. Let’s cleanse our palate with a cute dog picture, shall we?

One of the floating bars (Kokomo’s) has just opened for the season. I think I’ll go welcome them back!

Honey came in and she caught me red-handed
Creeping with the girl next door
Picture this, we were both butt-naked, banging on the bathroom floor

How could I forget that I had
Given her an extra key
All this time she was standing there
She never took her eyes off me

How you can give your woman access to your villa?
Trespass and a-witness while you cling to your pillow
You better watch your back before she turn into a killer
Let’s review the situation that you caught up in a

To be a true player you have to know how to play
If she say a night, convince her say a day
Never admit to a word when she say
And if she claim, ah, you tell her, “Baby, no way”

But she caught me on the counter (It wasn’t me)
Saw me bangin’ on the sofa (It wasn’t me)
I even had her in the shower (It wasn’t me)
She even caught me on camera (It wasn’t me)

She saw the marks on my shoulder (It wasn’t me)
Heard the words that I told her (It wasn’t me)
Heard the scream get louder (It wasn’t me)
She stayed until it was over

Just a quick post before I head out to assist the Hare in marking the trail for today’s Hash. He asked if I’d help and I’d just as soon do trail in the morning as I would this afternoon.

Last night saw me back at Cheap Charlies. Thus far in the battle of the bars, I’m finding my comfort level higher in the familiar surroundings of CC. Plus I got a nice back rub from Maya in exchange for a couple of lady drinks. That’s about as good as it gets! Well, it gets LOTS better in my fantasies, but you know what I mean.

So, I just discovered that I can post GIFs here. I guess I’m a sick bastard, but this one cracked me up.:

Anyway, that’s all I’ve got for now.

…but I’ve been to Bar Celona.

Yep, last night I attended the grand opening of the newest bar in Barretto–Bar Celona. It’s a rooftop bar, similar to Cheap Charlies. Beers were a bargain at P50 ($1.00) each. They have a pool table, big-screen TVs, good music at a reasonable volume, and friendly staff. That’s a good combination for success! Speaking of staff, I recognized several employees who had previously worked at Cheap Charlies. Familiar faces on the first day of operation, can’t beat that!

Speaking of Cheap Charlies, the news isn’t good. As seen on one of the forums I frequent:

Popped into Foodies ( cottage pie historic!) and spoke to Tim. Graham’s massive stroke has killed 50% of his brain, so he is robbed of speech functions, memory and does not recognize anyone! He has no chance of recovery and the hope is he can be repatriated within the next 3 weeks, it will cost approximately £28k to get him back to Scotland, so his sister can take care of him. It’s a shame as he wouldn’t want to live in this state and I am sure you would agree that you wouldn’t let a dog suffer like this! 

A good reminder to us all to live each day for today, tomorrow may not come and we may not know it if it does. Sad for Graham.

Anyway, came home from the bar via trike, so I wasn’t feeling any pain. And waiting for me in the crockpot was some hot chili:

And finally, from my walk this morning:

Luckily I survived. In fact, it’s probably fair to say I’ve outlived them all now. What goes around comes around and I reckon my time is coming. But not yet!

Well, I’ve never been to Spain
But I kinda like the music
Say the ladies are insane there
And they sure know how to use it

They don’t abuse it
Never gonna lose it
I can’t refuse it

Just some stuff I’ve seen while I’ve been out and about.

And that’s the way I see things around here.

Step out the front door like a ghost
into the fog where no one notices
the contrast of white on white.
And in between the moon and you
the angels get a better view
of the crumbling difference between wrong and right.
I walk in the air between the rain
through myself and back again
Where? I don’t know
Maria says she’s dying
through the door I hear her crying
Why? I don’t know

Round here we always stand up straight
Round here something radiates

Another day, another journey. This time with the Wednesday Sausage Walkers group. Lately, I make a decision on whether to participate or not based on where the group is going and/or who is leading the group on that day. Now when it was announced we would ride the Hashmobile out to Gordon Heights in Olongapo City and then make our way up to Tralala, I normally would have been in a “thanks, but no thanks” mode. But there were a couple of other slow walkers in attendance so I decided what the hell and went along despite my reservations.

I’d done the climb to Tralala once before back in February. I swore back then “never again”. And all the way up this time I was swearing at myself for being so stupid as to consent to this replay. Ah well. According to my fitness tracker, we did a 400-meter ascent. I’d say two-thirds of that was steps, and the remainder a less arduous path meandering its way to the top. It was a challenge for this tired old man, that’s for sure.

And then finally we were done. I was so tired I only had two beers, then hoofed it on home. Took a nice nap and said fuck darts tonight.

I’m no Kevin Kim, that’s for sure. These past four days of strenuous (for me) activity make what Kevin is doing all the more impressive. My daily output is about 1/3 of what he’s doing routinely on his hike across South Korea. Well, if nothing else I’ve learned my limits.

I’m going to keep on walkin’, it’s what I do. At least when the sun is up. Nighttime is for rehydration, and beer seems to do the trick.

Look at the time! I need to get my afternoon steps in. I’m going to take it slow, flat, and easy today though.

Thanks for following along!

UPDATE: Okay, now this is kinda funny. I used the “there and back again” title once before, back in April 2017. That post was in recognition of Kevin Kim’s beginning a walk from Seoul to Busan. The more things change, the more they remain the same.

My third Hash event in three days is in the books. Now, the Bundok Hash is a once a year thing here and it’s “special”. Well, special in a way that I am duty-bound to not discuss publicly. Suffice to say it is limited in attendance to 22 brave souls who are biologically male. I met those stringent conditions and had the money required (P3500/$70) to participate. And so I did.

Now, it was like other Hashes in the sense that it did involve a walk/run and beer drinking. The Hares advised that the long trail was around 8K and the short trail was 4K. There was also a beer stop set up 2K into the hike.

Okay, well. I opted to do the long hike. And as usual, the runners and faster walkers soon disappeared way out in front of me. The trail began in familiar territory going through my subdivision and down into the small village of Marian Hills. That’s where the beer truck was parked and waiting. Now, I didn’t see the wisdom in providing beer so early in the hike, but so be it. What was surprising was that just me and another slow walker, Cannonball, were at the truck. I asked the Hares where the runners were and was told that we were the first to arrive. That didn’t make sense at all.

I found out later that everyone in front of me had missed the trail in Alta Vista, and went off on a tangent of some sort. In fact, NO ONE else made it to the beer stop at all. The only explanation was that the trail markings were confusing. In one sense they were–the short trail was simply to the beer truck and back. And the Hare had arrows going in both directions. I had correctly surmised this is what was going on so I had continued on the proper path. So, suffice to say this was a pretty major boondoggle. A Hare should always avoid having the trail cross over itself to ensure this kind of confusion doesn’t happen. And having the beer stop at the beginning of a long hike is also stupid. I had one beer and then a decision to make.

I chose to continue on with the long hike but planned to short cut as needed. The arrows pointed up to a familiar path and eventually intersected with My Bitch, so I figured I’d been well within my comfort zone. Cannonball opted to come along with me. Now, Cannonball is built like, well, a cannonball. Big and round. He asked if it was a hard trail and I responded that there was one moderate uphill and then it should all flat or downhill back to Barretto. So off we went.

Well, Cannonball struggled mightily with the uphill. I had to help him up in a couple of spots (I usually come down this way, so the climbing was a bit more difficult than expected). It was slow going, but we eventually made it to the top without an accident. My plan at this point given the time was to shortcut down to Columban College and then walk the streets back to our on-home at Hot Zone. Alas, I somehow missed the proper downhill trail and found that we were taking the path that leads to Rizal Extension. Oh well, it just added thirty minutes or so to the hike. Food was served at 5:00 and we arrived at 5:15. They saved us some.

We were later recognized as being DFL (dead fucking last) and required to sit on the ice for that sin. I did note that we were the only two in attendance who had walked the actual trail, but of course, no one cared.

Another boondoggle was with something I can’t really discuss here. The Bundok euphemism is “software”. So, we’ll just say there was a software problem. The Grand Master had mentioned a week or so ago that he was short on software and I told him no problem, I’d bring my own. Well, I guess things resolved in the interim and he had plenty of software to go around, but I had already made arrangements for mine to be, um, delivered. When it was he got pissed and got in my face yelling some, but in the end, it worked out. My software performed well and the Grand Master apologized.

And I guess that enough about the Bundok. Oh, I did get this nifty shirt:

And then there was this warning label inside the shirt:

Maybe I’ve said too much already.

Peace out!

Quite an event yesterday in celebration of the SBH3 26th anniversary. 121 Hashers in attendance, the third largest gathering in the history of our group. Normal attendance is usually 30-40, so it was something to behold. Logistically it was a bit of a nightmare. We had the Hashmobile and two Jeepneys on hand for transportation, and that wasn’t enough so they had to make two trips. I got “lucky” and got on one of the first Jeeps, but it broke down a bit short of the trail, so I had to walk a little more at the beginning. I wound up shortcutting on the end, so I guess it all balanced out.

The on-home of course was packed and the line for the provided food (tacos and chili) was long. I wound up leaving before the circle was completed. I was in a pissy mood about something non-Hash related. Wound up hitting some bars and getting pretty damn drunk. Oh well, all the nights can’t be good ones I suppose.

Another Hash this afternoon, the Bundok. This one is for males only and promises to be a little, shall we say, spicier. We’ll see. Maybe it will help get me out of this piss poor mood.

Yesterday I participated in the Angeles City Hash House Harriers 41st-anniversary run. It was my second time joining an AC Hash; I was also there for last year’s anniversary. Six fellow Subic Hashers made the journey with me, filling my driver’s vehicle to capacity. The actual trail we hiked was about 45 minutes outside of AC near the town of Porac. I am firmly in the camp of “it’s good to see something new,” so I enjoyed that aspect of the trip. I’ll let the pictures tell the story.

Anyway, I was not impressed with the AC Hash. Attending once a year is more than enough for me.

Today we celebrate the Subic Bay Hash 26th anniversary. I’m sure it will be much more fun than I had yesterday. Stay tuned!

My life but not my death, fortunately. Still, perspective is a wonderful thing. Mundane and routine are actually quite nice when you consider the potentially fatal alternatives.

Alright, let’s get the bad out of the way. We had a pretty gruesome murder event yesterday that has reverberated throughout our small town.

Police are looking into a restaurant business deal as one of the possible motives for the killing of  Anthony George Wilson, 61, an Australian national and Mila Bailey, 41, a Filipina inside their car in Olongapo City Friday.

The companion of the victims who was driving the car, Wayne Bailey, 71, was wounded.

The suspect in the shooting was identified as Michael McLaren, the fourth passenger in the vehicle, who escaped but was later on arrested.
According to Olongapo Police chief, Police Colonel Benjamin Sembrano,  McLaren allegedly bought a hotel and restaurant from the Baileys through cash.

The victims were business owners here in Barretto. One owned the Gum Leaves Resort and another the Crazy Horse bar. I did not know either of them. What is very unusual is that this is apparently a foreigner-on-foreigner crime, something that is almost unheard of in these parts. I mean, when you can hire a hitman for $100, why do the dirty work yourself?

Meanwhile, in my non-violent world, here’s what’s happening:

A third-place finish in darts last night. That’s not bad considering I wasn’t consistently on my game and my partner couldn’t hit shit. On a shingle or otherwise. I did manage another ton-80 though. Win or lose, I honestly don’t care. I’m at that stage of my “career” where I just want to have fun.

Some speculate that this is intended to be Halloween decorations. I doubt that though as Halloween is not really a thing here. Besides, we are well into the Christmas decorations and carols season (that starts on September 1–the “ber” months as they are called).

An interesting hike it was. I didn’t get “lost” lost, just missed my intended trail and wound up on one that I wasn’t sure where it led. It eventually led me back down off the mountain in a place I hadn’t been before. Well, I mean, it was in Barretto, just not a neighborhood I’d walked. Might have some potential for a future Hash trail. We’ll see.

Speaking of the Hash, I’m going to Angeles City tomorrow to participate in the ACH3 41st-anniversary run. We have our 26th anniversary run in Subic on Monday, and on Tuesday I’ll be doing the Bundok Hash. I’m no Kevin Kim, but that’s a lot of walking in store for me.

I don’t own a car here, but if I did this is how I’d like to see it washed:

Now I’ll have to be really careful to avoid a fall.

As I alluded to in yesterday’s post, I executed a search for a lost trail. Anyhow, I made the bottom-up approach work where I had failed earlier when trying to go top to bottom. It wasn’t easy and I can understand better why it didn’t work out the other day. At the bottom portion of the trail, I didn’t have to deal with that tall thatch grass, but it didn’t look like anyone had been using that path for several months. Covered in leaves and branches and the like. At one point I literally had to tear my way through fallen tree limbs. I couldn’t find the trail the other day because it no longer even looks like a trail. What a pain in the ass it was, but my pride would not allow another failure. At least this time I was pretty confident I’d find my way up without killing myself. And I was right!

My nephew Justin returned from his trip to Manila last night. He’d been there to secure his new work visa from the Korean embassy and was successful in that endeavor. So we did some celebrating with a small bar crawl that was quite pleasant.

I guess I don’t really talk much about the nightlife here, but other than special events like the SOB there’s not much to say. For me anyway, it’s all about the enjoyment of some cold beers after walking so hard during the day. But here’s a brief recap of our night on the town.

Justin took the bus from Manila to Olongapo, then caught a Jeepney that dropped him off in Barretto. I was waiting for him in Cheap Charlies when he arrived. We had some beers for ourselves and Rosemarie and Maya enjoyed some lady drinks in exchange for their pleasant company. We also ordered up some food and shared with the girls who by all appearances must have been hungry indeed!

We then left Cheap Charlies for a bar I very rarely visit–Coco Lips. It’s a girly bar with dancers and loud music which is really not my thing. But I’m friends with a woman who recently started working there as a waitress. Michelle was very happy to see us and of course, we had her join us for some lady drinks. She and Justin actually seemed to hit it off quite well. I held out as long as my ears could tolerate the music, then we moved on down the highway to Alley Cats.

There were no customers when we walked in and Justin’s favorite bargirl, Jerlyn, wasn’t working. I rang the bell (buying all the girls a drink) to liven things up some. The girls rely on drink commissions so it was nice to see their smiles as they enjoyed their beverages. Justin really started pounding the beers (three to my one!) which made me a little nervous, so I suggested we head on home. After we got outside he wanted to pop into Queen Victoria bar to see a girl named Sally. What the hell, the boy is on vacation so I relented.

While Justin spent some time with his favorite I chatted with the bartender and wound up buying her a drink as well. As starved as the bargirls may get for drink commissions, it can be worse for the person behind the bar who is often overlooked. Anyway, she was pleased which pleased me. It was now well past my bedtime, so I told Justin it was time for me to go. He came along and he was surprised when I called for a trike instead of walking home. Yeah, I was pretty drunk.

So, there you have what a night on the town looks like. We made several girls really happy and including the food, I spent maybe $70. Back in my Korea days, I’d spend that much just on me. A normal night here I’d be hard-pressed to drop twenty bucks in the bar. It’s definitely cheaper in the Philippines, which makes it easy to be generous. Everyone wins!

Here are some photos from my hiking adventure yesterday:

A long but satisfying day yesterday. Up and out early in order to lay the trail for the 1,370th running of the Subic Bay Hash House Harriers. By most accounts those efforts were successful. As a Hare, I hold myself responsible for setting a course that is clearly marked, relatively fun, and does not needlessly place life or limbs in jeopardy. By that standard, I’m satisfied with the afternoon’s results. No one got seriously lost, folks expressed enjoyment at seeing relatively new terrain, and everyone made it back on-home without injury. Woo Hoo! Let’s go to the pictures, shall we?

So, with the trail completed we refreshed ourselves at Johan’s then headed home. I had some lunch and a nap, then made my way out to Johansson’s for the start of the Hash.

I got a haircut (more on that in a minute) then made my way to Johan’s to await the arrival of the returning Hashers.

It was a good Hash if I do say so myself.

As I mentioned above, I got a haircut yesterday. That’s something I do once a month or so. I normally just tell my barber to “clean it up” and he gives me a nice trim. Well, my regular barber wasn’t there and his replacement gave my head a good going over. A Filipino-style cut if you will.

Anyway, it’s all good. The haircut was P60 ($1.20) and I tipped my barber P40 for all his hard work. Hell, maybe I can even go two months between cuts this way.

Maybe my life isn’t paradise, but it’s close enough for me.

UPDATE: Well, I see I used the “a close shave” title for a post I wrote five years ago on the occasion of shaving off my beard.

A nothing burger kind of day around here. Yeah, yeah, what else is new? Accompanied Justin to the bus station in Olongapo City. So I did get to “enjoy” the excitement of a Jeepney ride. The timing was impeccable though. Justin purchased his ticket and walked right on to the bus waiting to transport him to Manila.

I don’t get downtown very often, so I thought I’d take advantage of my geography and visit the new mall in town. I got there about thirty minutes prior to opening time, so I strolled around the local area. Nothing really wrong with it, but let’s just say I’m glad to be living in Barretto!

Anyway, the mall features four floors of malliness, and it’s all new and clean and full of goods waiting to be consumed. Speaking of consumption, probably the thing I liked best was the restaurants, including a grilled meat Korean place and an all-you-can-eat steakhouse. The only thing I ate this morning though was a Krispy Kreme donut. It had been a while since I’ve indulged that particular sweet tooth and I couldn’t resist the opportunity. Otherwise, there was nothing at the new mall that would warrant a special trip out there. I like the mall on the old Navy base better and it’s closer as well.

I didn’t see any other foreigners at the mall this morning. It was a little disconcerting when an older Filipina came up to me and asked me if I had served in the military. I told her no and asked her why and she explained her retired military husband had died and his pension had stopped. I honestly don’t know anything about how that works and suggested she contact someone at the Veterans Administration or a local VFW chapter. She kinda just shrugged, thanked me, and went on her way. I just now looked it up and unless the retiree opts for a survivor benefit, the widow gets no money. I suspect that is what happened here.

I did come across a group of white people standing around inside the mall and I did my best to blend in with them.

I didn’t notice at the time of the photo but I see now that they aren’t exactly dressed appropriately for the Philippines. No idea why a store would even stock such items. Good luck to that retailer!

And there you have another installment in the adventure that is my life in the Philippines.