…it’s another.

Internet is back. Now the water is out. I of course have an ample supply of drinking water, but damn, not taking a shower (or flushing a toilet) is chillin’ my buzz. We are told we will have water service restored at an unspecified time “tomorrow”. We shall see.

Otherwise it was a pretty good day. Nearly 25,000 steps. My dart league team won our match with me doing my part along the way. Followed by a dinner date with Marissa. And for the first time in a long time there was no rain to speak of.

Got some Hash trash to share, but that will have to wait until tomorrow I’m afraid.

Here’s to hoping things will be back to normal soon. Although I suspect things are in fact normal for the Philippines. Ah well, good with the bad and all that jazz.

Sorry for the lack of updates here. I’ve been stymied by mother nature and third world customer service. Hope to have a ketchup post soon if I can condiment some internet access. Stay tuned.

The way things are around here. Those wires at the bottom are the power lines leading to my subdivision. But in the grand scheme of things, losing internet access for a couple of days is nothing compared to someone who has lost their house…

Last night I’m at Lollipop bar using another coupon I won at the SOB raffle. Free beer! So, I decided to share the bounty by calling one of the dancers down for a lady drink. I usually go for the one who looks like she doesn’t get much male attention. The gal in the back doing an aimless shuffle seemed to fit the bill.

Now, I’m just going for conversation anyway, so looks ain’t that big a deal. I do like them kind of shy and sweet though. There’s a charm to innocence (even in a whore bar) I suppose. Well, my instincts were off on this one.

Geez, she was all over me. Touching and wanting to be touched. It wasn’t that she was rubbing me the wrong way *ahem*, but that’s not what I was there for. Of course, I am a man and before too long the little head started doing my thinking, and he was thinking “fuck that no bar fine rule. You know you want what she’s offering!” So me and my big head paid the tab and got the hell out of there while the getting was good.

Back out on the street I was trying to decide where to go next. I figured Alley Cats was a pass since Marissa was working. I walked in that direction though, halfheartedly thinking I’d pop into Rosie’s, which is next door to Alley Cats. And lo and behold, I run into Marissa walking up the street. I teasingly accused her of stalking me, and she took me serious saying “no, I’m not stalking, I’m going to pick up food”. Okay then. She asked if I was bar hopping and I shrugged and said “sort of”.

I wound up going to Alley Cats.

Time for darts. More of this story to come.

Stumbled home from the bar last night, opened the door, and my Buddy went nuts with glee while greeting me. Same thing when I came downstairs this morning. That just warms this lonely old heart.

He’s a good boy, except when he’s not. I am reminded that owning a dog is very much like being a parent again. He gets into mischief (like raiding my trashcan to chew up tissues full of snot (or worse, he’s raided the bathroom trash as well). Now, I’m working hard at establishing myself as the alpha male around here and it might be working, at least he’s not repeated the trash thefts since my harsh scolding. He is a smart dog and seems to want to please me. Good boy, Buddy!

Buddy finds the oddest places and positions for sleeping. Does that look comfortable to you? Also makes descending the stairs a little more perilous than normal…

I’d say Buddy is about 90% there in the leash training department. I’m very pleased about that. The harness versus the collar seemed to do the trick. This morning I was heading out to grab some breakfast and he stood at the door looking up at me expectantly. That’s the first time he acted like he wanted to go for a walk! So I obliged and let him come along.

Now, we normally just walk around my neighborhood which is very quiet and has little vehicle traffic. Not so the hike to Treasure Island on Baloy beach. He freaked a little bit crossing the National Highway and was skittish as cars and trikes passed us by on the narrow road leading to our destination. About 3/4 of the way there this pack of five dogs went into attack mode (they’ve never bothered me, so it was Buddy they were after. I was carrying an umbrella so I fended them off successfully. Decided to walk the rest of the way on the beach and I’ll be damned if a different group of unrestrained dogs didn’t come after us. Luckily, the skills I developed during eight years of carrying mail kicked in. I just went into “full crazy” mode, cussing and screaming and being aggressively threatening (again with the umbrella). I learned that when dogs think you are a fucking crazy bastard without fear it puts them off their game. They retreated and we proceeded on to breakfast. Fun times!

Buddy channeling Snoopy.

I mentioned the other day that we have construction workers in and out of the house. Twice I’ve caught Buddy sneaking out of the house and hanging out in the front yard. At least he no longer heads for the hills when he escapes, but I don’t like it. I also don’t like keeping a dog chained, but I do now out of necessity when I put him out or have unsecured doors. It’s a long chain though so he can and does climb over the wall to poop and pee further from the house. I’m good with that.

He’s also getting to be a good watchdog, growling and barking when strangers are near the house. I like the sense of security that gives me, especially at night while I’m sleeping. Good job Buddy!

Summertime means insects. Ah, I remember those VW bugs…

Meanwhile, I’ve not been dogging it. Much. Dart league yesterday afternoon and I played well enough to win all my matches. Then I treated myself to dinner at Mango’s. They have a nice menu selection and the food is consistently high quality.

Did the pork chops last night. Well, if you have to dine alone, good food makes it more, er, palatable.

I had a coupon for buy one/get one at Rum Jungle, a bar I don’t normally frequent. I soon came to remember why. Sat down and half way through the first beer I had four women join me at my table uninvited. I really need to learn to be a bigger prick and tell them to get lost. My ignoring them and not buying the coveted lady drinks seems to be a failing strategy. I finally got up and left without finishing the “free” beer. I’m just not that lonely yet I suppose.

The rain stopped this morning so I took full advantage. In addition to Buddy’s walk I went out for another hour and a half stroll. Felt good to be getting my steps in again. Almost 16,000 so far. Rain came back this afternoon of course, but still…

And finally, I am really tired of all this “Russians hacking the election” and treason bullshit. All my lefty friends are going nuts on Facebook. And I had to endure CNN at breakfast. Are people really this stupid? Apparently so.

The cold hard truth. And the cartoonist, Ted Rall, is a notorious lefty. I don’t mean handedness either.

Another reminder of why I am glad to be living here.

Peace out!

This is at the bottom of the hill I live on adjacent to my subdivision.

And it’s still raining. I barely managed 10,000 steps yesterday and today appears like it’s going to be worse.

At least the construction crew is here finally doing some of the promised repairs.

And it turns out I must be a legend.

A legend in my own mind anyway.

And that’s all I’ve got.

SEVERE WEATHER BULLETIN :#11
ISSUED AT:5:00 AM, 17 July 2018
TROPICAL DEPRESSION “HENRY” HAS MADE LANDFALL OVER DALUPIRI ISLAND, CAGAYAN AND IS NOW HEADING TOWARDS THE WEST PHILIPPINE SEA.

Daily Weather Forecast
Issued at: 4:00 AM today, 17 July 2018
SYNOPSIS: At 3:00 AM today, the center of Tropical Depression “HENRY” was estimated based on all available data at 75 km West Southwest of Calayan, Cagayan (19.1 N, 120.8 E) with maximum sustained winds of 60 km/h near the center and gustiness of up to 75 km/h. Moving West Northwest at 20 km/h. Meanwhile, the Low Pressure Area (LPA) was estimated based on all available data at 825 km East of Infanta, Quezon (15.4 N, 129.3 E). Southwest Monsoon affecting the country.

Another day, another tropical storm. Been pouring down rain like crazy overnight. Heh, what else is new? Well, I’m not one to complain about the weather. Much. Someone told me yesterday that this rainy season has been the rainiest in several years. Welcome to the Philippines, thank you very much!

Things aren’t all bad of course. There are those indoor activities that help pass the time in a pleasant and satisfying way. Except I don’t currently have a girlfriend. Oh well, I do have this:

I picked up my crockpot from the repair shop. 860 pesos ($16) and it’s good as new. Well, it was new and now it works, so it is BETTER than new!

Wanted to try it out and I had most of the needed ingredients for chili. Except for the seasoning. So I used some burrito spice I had brought with me from the commissary. Oh, and I forgot to add onions I made it Kevin Kim style.

Also baked up a pan of cornbread. And when I say “baked up” I mean I opened a package of mix (Marie Callander’s), stirred it up in a bowl, and popped it in the oven. I did have to go to the internet for the Fahrenheit to Celsius conversion.

And it turned out to be quite tasty if I do say so myself. Even had a bowl for breakfast this morning…

Yesterday was the Hash. It stopped raining for the most part during the event, but the trail was very muddy and potentially treacherous. I’m not sure which is more slippery, mud or wet leaves. But nothing tops wet leaves on top of mud. Trust me on that.

The worst part of every Hash for me is being jammed “on-in” that damn truck for the ride to the trail head.

But I survived and it was “on-on”… I did the short trail (5 kms) because I didn’t see any other walkers doing the runners trail. I’m not that confident (competent) at following the trail markings yet. I absolutely do not want to be alone on a slippery mountaintop…

The short trail had some nice features, like rickety stream crossings….

And as always there were peaceful and serene moments counterbalancing the terrifying ones…

And at the end of the day all I had to show for it was some mud on my shoes. Which in my experience is much better than blood!

I did have to spend some time with my ass on the ice though. The Grand Master of Ceremonies caught me leaning against a pillar instead of standing upright in the circle. So I had to be punished for being lazy. Yeah, I won’t make that mistake again. That fucking ice is as cold as a Korean woman’s heart!

And life goes on…

The sun is shining again! So no more complaining about the rain.

Damn, it’s hot!

When the clouds finally broke late in the afternoon yesterday, I escaped the confines of Casa Rosenda and commenced to walking…

It’s interesting how the same view is ever changing with the weather patterns of the day…

I concluded my walk with some liquid refreshment at Cheap Charlies bar, which overlooks three girlie bars across the street.

Then I dined on some chicken enchiladas at Dryden’s Cantina. Not the best I’ve had, but not bad either.

A couple of more beers at Hot Zone and Alaska bars, then I made an early night of it and headed home. Plenty of time for some reading before bed:

Ah, first world problems and all that. Which is not to say that I have this particular problem. Although did I mention how tiny Marissa is? I’m sure she will never feel unfulfilled…

Stopped into the pet shop on this morning’s walk and bought a gift for Buddy:

He wasn’t too happy about it and sulked for awhile. I made him wear it for a couple of hours before taking him out for a walk…

Well, he was still somewhat resistant at first, but it was also clear the harness was much more comfortable for him than the collar. And it wasn’t long before he was walking alongside me like a champ. No tension on the leash at all, just like the videos said it ought to be.

“Hurry up old man!”

A good day so far. Now it’s off to dart league. And never forget: You matter! Until you don’t.

I have no energy but it doesn’t matter…

And it has been pouring rain for over 12 hours straight now.

How bad is it? Well, I looked out my window and saw this at the end of my driveway:

What the duck?

Luckily I live on top of the hill, I’ve heard reports of localized flooding in town.

So I’ve been stuck indoors all damn day long. Got bored so I fired up the oven.

And prepared my first Philippines brownies. Well, same as all the other brownies I ever baked, just never baked them in the Philippines before.

I declare them “tasty!”

Dart league yesterday and I went 4-0. More importantly I actually threw some pretty good darts. Been awhile since that’s happened. Even beat one of the best players in town twice in singles and once in doubles. That was sweet revenge because she has owned me in tournaments.

Afterwards I rewarded myself by dining at Midnight Rambler, where I enjoyed this view:

wet and wild

And the house specialty, fish and chips:

hot and crispy

Of course, that’s a meal no vegan would enjoy. Where do vegans come from anyway?

Ah, I see what you did there!

Did I mention I’ve been bored today? How bored? Well, bored enough to find this funny:

or punny as it were.

Oh, and the Hash House Harriers were in the news!

Anyway, hope the rain lets up soon so I can get out there and get some steps in. Yeah, yeah. Into each life some rain must fall, but this is ridiculous.

Hard to believe but I’ve been living in the Philippines for two months now. Achieving this milestone also necessitated a visit to the Bureau of Immigration office in downtown Olongapo. And that is just what I did.

Filled out the paperwork for a 60 day extension of my tourist status and paid the requisite fee of 8,100 pesos (around $160). And then I had my photo and biometrics (fingerprint scan) taken so that I can be issued the required Alien Certificate of Registration (ACR) card. I can’t pick it up for two weeks though. This doesn’t really change my status, although I’m hopeful it will allow me to open a Philippines bank account. From what I’ve read it seems to vary bank to bank (and branch to branch) on whether a tourist is permitted an account. We’ll see. Long term I still plan to do the Special Senior Retirement Visa (SSRV) which provides permanent resident status. I’ll get around to applying for that one of these days.

Another dart tourney yesterday, but I didn’t finish in the money. Bar was packed as we were celebrating the birthday of one of the staff, Flor. It was a good time.

The Alley Cats staff. They are all pretty sweet (more or less) and call me Kuya (older brother) John which I’m assuming is a respectful term of endearment.

Well, so much for assuming. I decided to look up the definition. And yes, it means “older brother”. But this additional context was disconcerting:

2)Furthermore, a girl can call someone “kuya” as to cockblock him, emphasizing that the guy is only a brother to her, nothing more.

Oh well. Any girl who can resist this hotness doesn’t deserve it!

Come and get it!

Regardless, the Alley Cats bar has become my de facto home bar, my Shenanigans if you will. It’s only natural I suppose given that I play darts there at least four days a week. But I like the staff and most of my fellow patrons, so it’s all good. And really, the alternative is the girly “go-go” dancing bars that I just don’t seem to enjoy much at all these days. I guess in part it’s because I feel sorry for the girls and the desperation of their lives.

An action shot of yesterday’s dart tourney….

Buddy is doing well. I had considered changing his name to “Stay” because he would never come when I called him. At least that would create the appearance of a well trained dog. But this morning he did come when I beckoned him which made me feel good. He also gave me some dog kisses, but maybe that’s not a good thing.

I really do not believe a dog should be chained, but Buddy is such an escape artist that it is necessary for the short periods of time I let him outside to do his business…

But at least he has enough sense to come in out of the rain!

I’m still debating whether to bring home a companion dog for Buddy. My friend Mike sent me this photo:

These are Buddy’s brothers and sisters from another litter.

We’ll see. He’s such a whiner when he’s not getting all the attention he wants. Maybe a playmate would help. Or make it worse. Anyway, he did a little better on the leash this morning, although he is still very resistant. Going to keep working at it.

More darts on tap this afternoon. Life is good.

Well, more precisely, Hashing in the rain, but you get my meaning.

As anticipated, the weather was not a walking man’s friend yesterday. Fortunately, the Hare (Pubic Head) laid a relatively easy trail on paved roads with no mountains to climb. Took me about an hour to complete. Because it was raining I wasn’t able to capture the event in photos, as I wasn’t inclined to take the phone out of it’s ziplock baggie. Not that there was much of interest to see anyway.

Here’s yours truly at Johannson’s, the Hash gathering spot prior to the walk.

The on-home after event was at one of my favorite locations, Treasure Island resort. I’ve pretty much made it my morning stop for breakfast everyday.

The rain let up for the most part which allowed us to enjoy our Hash circle activities in relative comfort.

Waiting for HIV, our master of ceremonies, to call the circle to order.

I shared my dinner with these two fellow Hashers. They seemed appreciative.

And that was yesterday. A busy day today as well. I’ll tell you about it tomorrow.

Super Typhoon Maria is passing to the north today and throwing some rain our way. Ought to make this afternoon’s Hash interesting.

Messaging the landlord and his assistant about the promised repairs without response so far. Three weeks living here now and NOTHING has been done. Well, except for the stuff I’m doing.

Like these shelves for the kitchen…

And three ceiling fans (living room, office area, and master bedroom).

There are other things I want and am willing to do (like interior painting) but I need the other stuff fixed before I can proceed. I’m holding onto the remaining four months rent until I some assurance that the promises will be kept. Disappointed to say the least so far.

This afternoon I was laying on my bed trying to catch a nap and Buddy came in whining. I put my hand down and said “what is it boy?” and he playfully attacked. Ha, he was bored and wanted to play! So I got down on the floor and we wrestled some. It was kinda fun for both of us I think.

Buddy still ain’t much for walking on a leash. Marginally better than yesterday, but as the videos I’ve been watching suggest, you have to be patient.

And I’ve got all the time in the world.

Another weekend is drawing to a close. Not that there is much distinction between days when you don’t have a job.

Experienced some of the joys of dog ownership first hand today.

Buddy apparently sniffed out the used Kleenex tissues in the trash can beside my bed and went to town on them. He must really, really love me!

While I was out and about Buddy decided he wanted to enjoy the balcony off my master bedroom. So he tore a fucking hole through yet another screen door. For a free dog he’s been costing me a small fortune!

Tried to take Buddy for a walk this afternoon but he was having none of it. Wouldn’t budge and when I applied some pressure on the leash he dug in his paws and pulled back even harder. Strong little guy, I’ll give him that. Hopefully he’ll come around, I’d love to have him join me on some of my walks.

Anyway, I promise this is not going to be all Buddy all the time here at LTG. It’s been a slow day and not much else to blog about is all.

Oh, and Buddy quite often sleeps on his back.

Alright, alright. I finished third in the dart tourneys on Saturday and today. I’m very inconsistent which is frustrating. And Marissa came home with me after today’s darts and helped ease my frustration. I’m a satisfied man.

I’m drunk and tired, but post I must!

Woke up this morning and was greeted by Buddy sleeping outside my bedroom door. I thought, ah ain’t that sweet? And then I came downstairs to this:

Scratch one screen door. Now, I don’t think Buddy was trying to escape. I think he wanted to get outside to poop. Guess we’ll never know.

Of course, Buddy denies everything…

Today’s big accomplishments include getting my new grill all gassed up. And shopping for the makings of my first grilled meal here in the PI.

I checked every meat shop in Barretto before settling on these Australian ribeyes. The good news I suppose is that I bought four steaks for less than ten dollars. The bad news is you get what you pay for.

Here they are on the grill…

…and on my dinner plate. The steaks were tough. I knew as soon as I cut into one that it was not the tender and juicy meat to which I’d become accustomed. Everything else was fine.

And the company and *ahem* dessert were exquisite.

And before I pigged out as illustrated above, I achieved a long sought after goal…

…breaking the 200 pound barrier! We’ll see how long that lasts!

More to report, but too damn tired to get my mind around it now.

Laters.