Did the Sausage Walkers thing today. A little different in that we drove in the Hashmobile about 30 minutes out into the vast countryside and started from there. And as seems to be the norm, we took a couple of detours and dead ends before finding our way to the designated creekside lunch location for, yep you guessed it, sausages.

Alright, I must confess to having wimped out at the very beginning. There was this suspension bridge we needed to cross to get to the other side of the river. I got about half way over and it started swinging to and fro (I can handle the up and down) and I retreated. It just felt like I was going to topple over and into the river, which would have resulted in serious injury or death. So I chose discretion over valor and walked up river where the banks were less steep then waded across.

Ah well. Here’s some photos.

Let’s roll!

A view from the truck…

The bridge of my shame.

Everyone else made it across just fine. But once I reached the middle span where the handrails were ropes it just all felt so unstable to me. I took several steps, saw my life pass before my eyes, and retreated like a wimp.

After wading across down river I rejoined the group.

They didn’t laugh at me. Much.

No one home.

We only climbed one mountain today and about 3/4 way up we discovered we were going in the wrong direction and came back down….

…to walk along the river….

Trying to decide where to cross…

Ride ’em cowboy!

At our lunch site we came across the skinniest dog I ever did see. Shared my lunch with him but I doubt he’s long for this world…

Sausages roasting on an open fire. Well, bed of coals anyway…

A creek side picnic it was!

Anyway, got my steps in and saw some new sights, so it is all good.

A relatively easy 5K Hash yesterday, with only one smallish mountain to climb. The real challenge was lots of low hanging branches so I was stooped over quite a bit. And then there were these damn vines crossing the trail that had an uncanny ability to wrap around your ankles and trip you up at the most inopportune times. I didn’t fall that way but some others did. A goodly portion of the trail was through some ramshackle neighborhoods I hadn’t experienced before. Lots of kids out playing and they seemed delighted to see an old white guy walking through the ville. Here’s some pics:

The runners and walkers all loaded up on the Hashmobile, making it quite crowded indeed. The runners got off first for the “long trail”.

It’s “on-on”…

…and on up!

Pretty steep going back down and coupled with them damn vines it was treacherous in places.

Safely down to the flat lands and this peaceful pond.

Over a rickety bridge and back into civilization. Such as it is.

The straight and narrow.

A disgustingly filthy creek bed. Yeah, I can empathize with being poor, but that’s no excuse to trash your own neighborhood.

Life is hard…

That’s Tinkerbell. She was one of the runners and finally got up to me about 3/4 of the way back…

Some folks live like this…

And I live like this. “On-home” at Midnight Rambler.

We all just need to do the best we can I suppose. Life ain’t fair.

Facebook reminded me of the anniversary of one of the major milestones in my walking career:

It was quite a day and one that is unlikely to be repeated in this lifetime.

These days my goal is to average 20,000 steps a day and that’s something I generally achieve. Of course, much easier here than in a place like Manila. Also, doing the Hash and the “sausage walks” gets the weekly step count up.

This is the “high season” in the Philippines. Lots of tourists in town, Barretto seems to be especially popular with the Swedes for some reason. Kinda funny sometimes to see the bargirls with their boyfriends, or at least the guys who have been sponsoring them (i.e. sending financial support in their absence). Hey, I’m all about more power to them–a fool and his money are soon parted and all that. Also quite a few “two week millionaires” blowing into town and throwing big bucks around in the bars. They are very popular and then they are gone. Ha, at least it keeps the drink pressure off of me!

I can see why this is the time of year people visit. The weather has been fantastic! Not so humid, no rain, moderate temperatures, and usually a nice breeze to keep things comfortable. I guess I better enjoy it while I can because the hot months will be here soon enough.

What else? Well, my blog buddy Kevin Kim has been cooking up a storm. I’m going to see if I can up my game next time I prepare short ribs using some of his techniques. Haven’t been at all satisfied with the results I’ve been getting since the move. About the only thing I’ve cooked that is as good as it ever was is my crockpot pulled pork. Cooked up a nice big batch yesterday in fact:

Eight hours slow cooking, pulled, and ready to go…

…along with some corn-on-the-cob…

…broccoli with butter and cheese…

…and of course corn bread muffins!

Put it on a plate and eat it up! Actually, I put some leftovers in a tortilla for lunch and that was a tasty treat as well.

Hey, and speaking of Kevin “Don’t forget the hyphen” Kim, I’ve been studying up to improve my writing skills. Not that you’d know by reading my rants and ramblings here. In an effort to make the written world a better place, let me share these tips with you:

Its all their. Your welcome.

I tease of course. Sometimes it is all just a matter of perspective:

See what I mean?

Anyway, thanks for reading. Having nothing of substance to say is really quite a blessing. I’ve not been cursed with an interesting life!

I hear some people
been talkin’ me down,
Bring up my name,
pass it ’round.
They don’t mention
happy times
They do their thing,
I’ll do mine.

Walk on

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gALPWW9QByQ

Last night I attended and judged the weekly Sons of Baccus dance contest. It’s been awhile since I’ve done one, so it was a good change of pace. Sorry for the poor quality pictures, but hopefully you’ll get the flavor of the event:

The show started with all the competing dancers on the stage…

Wet Spot hosted the event this week and is the custom, their dancers went first.

Next up was the Man Cave dancers. They put on a pretty fun to watch hip hop routine….

Thumbstar is the newest bar in town. Their gals did a good job, but happened to dance to the same song as the previous dancers from Man Cave. They were simply not as hip in their hopping. Ahem.

Arizona always puts on an elaborate dance show, with costumes and props. Honestly, I prefer sexy dancing but who am I to judge. Oh wait, I AM a judge!

The girls from Lollipop did a nice job. I enjoyed their routine.

Whereas the Rum Jungle only sent two dancers and they basically just went through the motions. Well, I guess that’s what dancing is, but you know what I mean. A lack of enthusiasm.

Last up was the Hot Zone team. They were last week’s winner and they always put on a hot show. Last night was no exception…

…no ifs, ands, or butts about it!

So, on my scorecard I had Hot Zone first, Man Cave second, and Lollipop third. My fellow judges saw things differently (stupid bastards!) and the winners for the night were Alaska first, Hot Zone second, and Man Cave third.

Oh well, it was a fun evening and I came home pleasantly drunk. What a life!

This morning I’m off to the city I love to hate, Manila. At least I’ll be in the upscale Makati district, but still. The purpose of the trip is to initiate the long delayed process for obtaining my Special Resident Retiree’s Visa (SSRV). I’ll be visiting the offices of the Philippines Retirement Authority who will helpfully (hopefully) guide and assist me in completing the various requirements. If their website is to be believed anyway. I know I’ll need to get a medical exam and also deposit $10,000 in an approved Philippines bank. There is also a requirement for a police clearance from your home country but since I’ve not lived in the USA for several years that perhaps can be waived. Anyway, I’m staying until Friday which hopefully will give me ample time to complete everything required so I can avoid another trip to the big city.

The drive down ought to be interesting, but I’ll save that story for another post. Meanwhile, here’s a few photos from yesterday’s Hash:

On-On! I like it when we walk out instead of taking the Hashmobile.

As is often the case the trail led through my subdivision. None of my neighbors seemed concerned about this mysterious white powder though…

This being my 26th Hash I’ve walked this trail before–in both directions. I still find it pleasant though.

It was a comparatively easy hike yesterday. Only one mountain and just a couple of places that challenged an old fart like me.

A helpful Hasher helping the lovely ass lass in front of me get through a gully.

And there were other nice views as well…

More to come from Manila! Stay tuned.

Sometimes you just hit a dead end. And some days you hit several.

That’s how it was with the walkers group yesterday.

There were 7 of us when we started out. Rode the Hashmobile several clicks out of town to a subdivision featuring this view…

We had a new guy, Tim, along with us. Just recently retired from the VA and moved to Olongapo with his wife. He looks like I did three years ago and his goal is to get back in shape. I admire that but these long ass hikes up and over mountains are probably not the best place to start. I wondered whether he’d make it, but not for long. About halfway up the first incline he bailed.

For the second Saturday in a row our “leader” was having a difficult time finding trail. We kept hitting dead ends and having to retreat. This is especially frustrating after a strenuous climb. Oh, I guess it’s Fiesta season. People tie colorful bags and shit on string and hang it up. Got to admire their spirit.

Speaking of spirit, the Holy Spirit was on display at this Christian school we passed by. I’m not sure where intellectualism and fear of God intersect, but hey, I guess it’s a matter of faith.

So, us walkers continued our hit and miss efforts, eventually ending up in an area I at least recognized. I always appreciate that because I feel more confident when I know I can find my own way home.

These makeshift stairs seemed promising because someone went to a lot of effort to construct them. Nope. Another dead end.

Well, the leaders of the walkers (those German guys again) were bound and determined to find a way over the mountains to get back to Barretto. We were two hours into the hike by now and I was just about at my limit. So I decided to abort the mission and bail. I confirmed my supposition that the road at the bottom of those makeshift stairs pictured above did in fact lead back to the National Highway. I said my farewell and headed back down. Another member of the group decided to come with me.

Interestingly, when we reached the highway we encountered Tim making his way back to Barretto as well. He said he didn’t like being a quitter so he just kept on walking after he left us (the highway is mostly flat and more suited to his current level of conditioning). Good for him! So the three of us made our way over to Cheap Charlies for the cold beer we had worked so hard for and the the remaining four members arrived about 30 minutes later. I had a 25,000 step day, despite the abortion.

It does get a little frustrating sometimes when the trail doesn’t go as smoothly as you might like. Still, the point is to be out and about getting some exercise in. Even when you wind up backtracking you are still accomplishing that purpose.

This morning I tackled the long walk to the Navy base. Thought I’d return along the beach, but I started at a point further out than where we had recently Hashed. And came to an impassable cliff. So, I had to abort my plan and walk back on the highway. Ah well.

Chili in the crockpot and darts on tap for the afternoon. Life is good.

On the expat forums there is always some controversy surrounding the ethics of tipping your service providers here. It seems to boil down to a disconnect between folks from a tipping culture (Americans) and those from countries where it is not the norm. The non-tippers get upset because us tippers raise expectations and make them appear to be cheap Charlies. Me, I think they are selfish bastards especially when the folks serving you are lucky to make the equivalent of three or four dollars a day in wages.

Anyway, I recently got involved in a convoluted situation with its genesis in tipping. My friend (let’s call her “Ann”) a waitress from Treasure Island, sent me a message saying she had been suspended from work for two months. I of course asked why and she said it was because she had pocketed a customer tip instead of putting it in the “shared tip” pot. She said everyone does it but she got caught. Well. If the rule is all tips are to be shared amongst the staff then her excuse is unconvincing. On the other hand, if I tip someone for special service provided to me, I want my tip to go to her. Still rules are rules and she should have followed them. A 60 day suspension does seem harsh though.

What got me though was learning that the establishment also keeps a portion of the tips! That is such complete and utter bullshit that I found it hard to believe. So I sent a message to my friend Jerry who until recently was the Treasure Island manager. He was completely unsympathetic to Ann’s situation and said her complaints were just sour grapes. He did confirm that TI keeps 15% of the tips received by staff and uses them to pay for the annual Christmas party. Hmm. Again, I’m a generous tipper normally but I’ll be damned if I want that money going to anyone other than those who have provided the service for which I am tipping. I made a mental note to myself to no longer tip at TI. I also now either inquire of my waitress how tips are handled and more often than not, I surreptitiously slip it into her pocket.

But it gets worse. It turns out that Jerry shared what I thought we discussed in confidence with the owner of Treasure Island. I didn’t mention Ann’s name to Jerry, but of course it wasn’t hard for them to peg her as the one talking out of school. The next day I got a frantic message from Ann wanting to know if I had said anything about what she told me (she had in fact asked me not to share what she had told me with anyone). I had to confess that I had talked to Jerry. Ann told me they were now retaliating against her by refusing to provide a “certificate of employment”, a document she required to prove she had the experience listed on her resume so she could find another job. She begged me to go back to Jerry and ask him to intervene on her behalf. I promised I would.

I was of course pissed at Jerry for sharing our conversation and angry with myself for having betrayed Ann’s trust. I thought long and hard about how to approach Jerry, and finally decided to grovel–“I was only asking from a customers perspective. Ann had not told me anything negative about TI and she should not suffer repercussions based on my indiscretion.” Jerry gave me a bullshit answer “I don’t have a problem”. Yeah asshole, the problem is what you said to the owner.

Ann was beside herself with worry, she has a potential opportunity on a cruise ship and needs the letter of employment. So, I went back to Jerry and told him that if the owner was withholding the employment letter because of something I said that was wrong. I specifically asked him to intercede with the owner. His response–“I understand Ann is trying to “poach” other employees.”

Okay, now I’m really angry and it was clear Jerry was not going to be any help. I’m an old union guy and 30+ year HR professional and I can’t stand to see workers exploited this way. You can’t “poach” an employee who is happy with their work situation. And it was now clear to me that TI treats their employees poorly. So as much as I try to avoid getting sucked into drama, I felt like I had contributed to Ann’s dilemma with my big mouth and it was on me to find a way to fix it.

I don’t know anything about Philippines labor law, but a quick Google search revealed that the “certificate of employment” is something an employer is required to provide. It appears there are some pretty severe sanctions for failing to do so. I told Ann to ask one more time that the certificate be provided and if it was refused I’d pay for a lawyer to file charges against TI. Ann was ecstatic and called me “the best friend ever”. Well, I don’t know about that. If I had kept my mouth shut to begin with…

Anyway, I heard back from Ann that the owner wanted to meet with her. I advised her to be polite, admit she had made a mistake, and thank him for the opportunity he had given her to work at TI. As I told her, it doesn’t have to be true, but sometimes sucking up is the best course of action. Apparently it worked because she came out of the meeting with the employment certificate in hand and best of all it did not contain any derogatory information on the circumstances of her departure from TI.

All’s well that ends well I suppose. Some lessons learned of course, but that’s good too.

…on these photos from my Thanksgiving Day celebration.

So, I had reserved a table at the Arizona Resort in advance. Arrived to find this. Wasn’t sure if they were talking about me or a McDonald’s dessert…

My guests for the meal, Ester, Cherry and Marissa…

The food was all surprisingly good, even by Arizona’s high standards. They had both baked and deep fried turkey and all the side dishes were delicious as well. Yeah, some of my favorite TG standards weren’t there, like candied yams and green bean casserole, but what are you gonna do? My only real complaint was there was no dessert included. I could have gone for some pumpkin and/or pecan pie!

When we finished our meal we headed out to the Arizona floating bar for some liquid refreshments…

Life is good…

…and so were the views. On Wednesday I was up on top of that mountain looking down at the bay and on Thursday I was looking up to where I’d been.

Sometimes life’s a beach…

We enjoyed a few hours on board…

I’m not saying I got a little drunk or anything…

…but I did see the sun go down…

…and the moon come up!

After we left Arizona it was on to our regular karaoke (videoke in local parlance) joint to sing our drunken hearts out. It was a damn fine day. I went home comfortably numb and feeling thankful.

There is no pain you are receding
A distant ship smoke on the horizon
You are only coming through in waves
Your lips move but I can’t hear what you’re saying
When I was a child
I caught a fleeting glimpse
Out of the corner of my eye
I turned to look but it was gone
I cannot put my finger on it now
The child is grown
The dream is gone
I have become comfortably numb.

Here’s wishing my American readers a very happy Thanksgiving day. Don’t eat too much!

I can’t promise to take my own advice in that regard as I’ll be dining at the Arizona resort’s special turkey buffet this afternoon. Need to get my pesos (595, around $12) worth! Will be dining with some friends from Alley Cats bar because who wants to eat a feast alone?

In the spirit of the day I can say I’m indeed thankful for my family safe at home, my life here, my health, and my loving dog. Life is far from perfect but I know I’ve been blessed.

What else? Well, it’s been a while since I’ve had a day like this:

Three hours with the sausage walkers will do that…

Yogi Berra famously said “I came to a fork in the road and I took it”. What do you do when you encounter a spoon?

We gather every Wednesday at 1000 at the Angels bakery then head for the hills…

And damn, every time I think a climb can’t get any harder, it does.

Unlike the Hash, the trail is not laid out and marked in advance. We are basically just winging it, although the more experienced walkers usually know what’s ahead from past experience. Except when someone constructs a new razor wire fence blocking the trail. We couldn’t go around the fence so we went through it.

About an hour into the hike we came upon what I assume was a rest area. No idea what the real story here is/was.

The effort is rewarded.

It was a cool(er) day, overcast with occasional sprinkles. Quite pleasant really.

This week’s iteration of the sausage walkers…

Happy Thanksgiving y’all!

It was deja vu all over again. Although not technically a rehash since Saturday’s hike wasn’t a Hash event. Still, it was exactly the same route I took with the “sauerkraut” walkers. Probably should not be surprised because the Hare was the burly German guy–he just killed the proverbial two birds with one stone I guess. Still just a tad disappointing to not see something new, but other than the exhausting mountain climb it’s a pretty nice trail. Here’s some photos:

A longish trail. It was getting to be pretty dusky by the time I made it back…

The Hare, Almoran, giving last minute instructions…

The walkers being transported to the trail head in the Hashmobile…

That would be me in the back of the truck…

Ready to get started?

And we are “on-on”!

That mountain is a tough motherfucker…

But maybe if you live up there you get used to it…

And there are the views…

That’s me walking the ridge line, a comparatively easy way down…

The old Navy base on the left as we made our way back down to the National Higway…

I just can’t imagine living like this…

My nightmare when I walk the highway. But we made it across safely…

…and onto the beach for a relatively easy walk on-home.

During the Hash circle I was recognized with this headband for completing my 25th Hash…

Ha! And now I’ve completed my 25th post about my Hashing adventures. You’re welcome!

UPDATE: Came across this story about the Hashers causing a panic by marking the trail with “white powder”. HaHa, it’s flour folks. Environmentally friendly!

Well, technically it was the Saturday offshoot of the Sausage Walkers group. There were only four of us today though, three German speaking guys and me. But they were pleasant enough so it would be unfair to dub them sour Krauts. Ahem. I’m used to walking alone anyway so them speaking amongst each other in their native tongue didn’t really bother me at all. I was participating primarily to push myself to walk harder (everywhere I walk on my own tends to be flat) and to explore new trails I’m not adventurous enough to discover on my own. Mission pretty much accomplished as we did a three hour hike that included climbing a mountain. Actually, the trail location was where we were for the Wednesday hike, but we did do a different approach for ascent and descent. It was a good walk!

Me and my fellow walkers. One of us did not speak German.

It was a pretty tough climb to the top, steep and took about 45 minutes. I was soaked and pretty much whupped when we took our first rest break. I reckon I have about 10 or 15 years on the next oldest in our group.

But from the top we enjoyed an outstanding view of downtown Olongapo City.

We came down the mountain and onto the beach for the walk back to Barretto.

But we did stop to enjoy some lunch first. That’s why I was wearing the backpack today. Had some apple with cheese slices and some celery with peanut butter.

As is the custom with the sausage walkers we ended our journey at Cheap Charlies where we imbibed some liquid refreshment.

That’s not the only walking I did today:

Me and Buddy did our regular jaunt through the neighborhood this morning. Ain’t he sweet?

Last night I played in the dart tourney and once again had the good fortune to finish first.

With my partner Flor. It was actually quite fun. My game is still inconsistent though. I’m going to try and find the motivation to practice more at home. We’ll see.

And that’s where things stand with me. Thanks for reading!

A diamond of a morning
Waked me an hour too soon;
Dawn had taken in the stars
And left the faint white moon.

–Sara Teasdale

Now while my lips are living
Their words must stay unsaid,
And will my soul remember
To speak when I am dead?

Yet if my soul remembered
You would not heed it, dear
For now you must not listen,
And then you could not hear.

Nothing like starting your day with a little Sara Teasdale, right?

Last night I made my return to the dart scene at Alley Cats after taking a break for over a month.

And despite the rust me and my partner Nancy managed a 1st Place finish…

Coincidentally, two years ago I also won a dart tourney…

…in Bangkok. It seems a lot longer ago than that, but I reckon Facebook doesn’t lie. Much.

Speaking of Facebook, one of the Sausage Walkers posted some more photos so I hope you will indulge me if I post them here.

Heading on up….

Posing for pictures at the summit…

I like this one because it captures my vape cloud nicely….

Preparing for our lunch break…

…then heading back down…

…to the beach…

…upon which we walked it on in to Cheap Charlie’s for some cold refreshing beers after our sweaty journey.

Life is good! Mostly.

I keep forgettin’ we’re not in love anymore
I keep forgettin’ things will never be the same again
I keep forgettin’ how you made that so clear
I keep forgettin’, darlin’