The end of my Korea life: It’s time.
On this day: May 11, 2018
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The fat man sings
I never really had a plan for life, I just reacted to it. Whenever I reached a crossroads, I chose a direction and followed the road without a clue as to where it might take me. I guess it is natural to wonder about the paths that would have led to a different life, but you only get to live the life you chose. No mulligans. But I have been extremely fortunate and blessed. The roads I have taken have led to some great adventures and life-altering experiences. A fool’s luck perhaps, but even though I could never have imagined what my life would turn out to be, it has been a very nice ride. So it is time to look forward again. And it will be an adventure with an uncertain outcome for sure.
I originally wrote that on New Year’s Day 2005 as I contemplated my future life in Korea. I quoted it again in a post I wrote on my last day in Korea. And here I am on the eve of my fourth year in the Philippines. Things haven’t exactly gone the way I imagined they might, but things are good enough for a fat old fuck like me.
Speaking of fat, I’m kicking off a plan to try and lose some of this belly. It’s so out of control that one of the female Hashers blurted out last night, “I can’t believe how big your stomach is!” Ouch. I checked the scale this morning, and it registered 216.1. Yikes. My goal has always been to stay under 200 pounds, but 215 is my redline. Looks like it’s time for some lifestyle changes. At this point, I’m not planning to do anything really extreme. Obviously, I need to cut WAY back on my beer intake. And at the grocery store today, I showed the self-discipline to avoid buying my usual weekly gallon of ice cream (1/2 vanilla, 1/2 rocky road). The problem is when I drink all that beer and come home. I seem to lack the ability to refrain from eating ice cream like there is no tomorrow. I always have an excuse–eating a bunch tonight is no more calories than eating a little over several days–but obviously, that’s just wishful thinking. So, less beer, fewer sweets, more exercise, and maybe skip a meal most days. That’s the plan anyway.
The big news around here is that the Philippines has elected a new President: Ferdinand Bong Bong Marcos. If that name sounds vaguely familiar, it’s because Bong Bong’s dad was the infamous former president/dictator. Ferdinand Sr. even puts Hillary to shame, holding the Guinness World Record for the largest-ever theft from a government. He won in an apparent landslide, so I suppose the age-old question of which old saying: “you can’t judge the son by the sins of the father” or “the fruit doesn’t fall far from the tree” is correct.
Alright, let’s get to yesterday’s Hash. I wound up doing a long and solitary trail. It was my choice to do it that way. I hate riding in the Hashmobile, so I opted to walk the 3.3K to the trailhead from my house. The Hares, Leech My Nuggets, and Fuck A Duck had a long and a short option. I took the shorter 5K version. When I reached the start, I decided not to wait for the other Hashers to arrive and set out on my own. I won’t usually hike in the hills when I’m unfamiliar with the terrain, but Leech always makes a well-marked trail, and I knew if I got into some kind of trouble, the other Hashers were only thirty minutes or so behind me.
I’m adding additional photos from the Hash page as usual. Mine are especially boring this week since I was the only Hasher in sight.
The liquor ban was still in effect, so we all stayed longer than usual at the On-Home (we usually pack up and head out to a local bar for some post-Hash drinking. It was odd to be stumbling home in the dark, but I made it without incident.
And that was my Monday.
On this day: May 10, 2015
Week tea was one of those catch-up posts after a week-long hiatus from blogging at LTG. That entry captures me in a grumpy old man phase but doesn’t seem to make the connection that I had recently quit smoking (for good, as it turned out).
The other thing that stood out for me was how similar this snapshot of my Itaewon lifestyle is to my current routines here in Barretto. I guess I’ve found my comfort zone.
A biscuit coincidence
It turns out the locals don’t call me the cookie man after all. I had two different “customers” thank me for the biscuits yesterday. Who knew?
In the first case, I got a message from a Facebook “friend” named Jenny that I’ve never met or talked to (yeah, I’ve got lots of those for some reason) saying she had seen me hiking in San Isidro. Jenny also mentioned seeing me giving biscuits at the house across the street from her. Her daughter wanted to know why the Kano (foreigner) didn’t give her any. I explained that the kids across the street from her were my regulars and that it was also my last bag of cookies.
Anyway, we wound up chatting, and she seemed pretty nice. She told me she did house cleaning and laundry and wanted to know if I needed any help. I explained that I have a full-time helper already. Then I said half kiddingly that I could always use a massage (yeah, I had been scrolling her FB photos, and she looked pretty good). Somewhat to my surprise, she agreed to come and do a massage. So, I arranged to meet her near her place and show her the back way into Alta Vista.
At the appointed time, I headed down the hill and was most of the way to her place before we met on the road. Oh my, Jenny was much heavier than her photos had led me to believe! Well, not that it mattered. After all, this was just gonna be a massage. Okay, maybe my little head was disappointed, but that’s often the case of late. So, after a brief exchange of greetings, we headed back up the hill to my place.
The total distance from where we met to my house is just under one kilometer. Granted, a lot of it is uphill (it’s a 30-meter climb). But between there and here, Jenny had to stop and rest at least a half dozen times. I was shaking my head in disbelief that anyone could be that out of shape. In fact, I asked her if she was a smoker or had lung issues. Nope, just not used to walking, she said.
Anyway, we finally made it to my humble abode. Jenny had some water and rested up a bit, and then it was time to get to work. She gave a decent massage, but nothing special. And nothing even approaching “inappropriate” touching, let alone a happy ending. And that was fine by me. When it came time for me to pay, I handed her 1000 pesos. She was surprised and said, “that’s too much!”. I was surprised because I’d never heard a Filipina utter such words. She was right, of course. The same massage in a parlor would have cost me less than 400 pesos. Still, it was Mother’s Day, so I just told her to keep the change. I also gave her a bag of biscuits to take home to her daughter. I then walked her back down the hill to make sure she’d make it home okay.
Since I’d forgone my morning walk for the unsatisfying massage, I decided to take the long way home. I regretted it almost immediately because it was frickin’ hot in the midday sun. By the time I reached the National highway, I’d had enough. I was also hungry. And there across the street sat the local Jollibee franchise.
And yes, like the wimp that I am, I took a trike home. Hey, I didn’t want my food to get cold. Yeah, that’s my excuse!
So, today is election day in the Philippines. Foreigners are not supposed to involve themselves in national or local politics, so I won’t. I’ve heard a couple of people complaining that they hadn’t received their 1000 pesos for voting. Yeah, that’s right. Candidates here can pay people to vote. Upon reflection, I guess that’s more honest than just stealing the votes like they do back in the USA.
That liquor ban doesn’t directly apply to foreigners, but establishments that want to sell booze to tourists and expats have to apply for an exemption. I guess it is a bureaucratic hassle because most bars just said “fuck it” and closed. I walked from one end of Barretto to the other and didn’t see anyone openly selling my beverage of choice. Remembering my lockdown days experience, I visited a certain hotel bar that had been my speakeasy. A brief chat with the manager, and I was good to go. My San Mig Zero was served discreetly in a coffee mug. Tasted good just the same.
Several beers later, I heard from a friend who advised a certain beach bar on Baloy was serving foreign customers. I was ready for a change of scenery, so I hoofed it on down the highway. As I walked on Baloy road, I noticed one of the resorts had a bar full of people drinking beers from bottles, so I guess they must have gotten the exemption permit. The beach bar hadn’t, but no one seemed to care. We were drinking openly there too.
It was while I was imbibing at the beach bar that the second biscuit coincidence took place. When I had been walking out on the Govic highway, I encountered a youngster I had seen before in Barretto. She walks the streets selling lumpia to bar patrons and the like. I had bought from her recently to feed the bargirls at It Doesn’t Matter. She usually has her two young sisters with her as well. I’m not sure how old she is, but I’d guess twelve or so. Friendly and sweet, and when she smiles, she reveals a mouthful of broken and rotting teeth. It’s actually kind of sad, but I do respect that she’s out there earning what she can rather than begging. Anyway, when I saw her and the sisters while hiking, I naturally gave them a bag of biscuits. And then yesterday, there she was at the beach bar with her basket of lumpia and sisters in tow. She gave me that big smile and said, “remember me? You gave me biscuits”. I told her, of course, I remembered and asked her if she had walked all the way to Baloy from her home in San Isidro. “Yes, sir.” Wow. That’s quite a hike, probably 4K one way. I bought her and her siblings a coke, and they went on about their business. What a life!
After a bit, I decided to walk on up the beach and see what else might be happening on election eve.
Turns out Da’Kudos was also openly selling alcoholic beverages. Naturally, I wanted to reward their good intentions, so I stopped in for a couple more before calling it a night and heading home.
It’s Hash Monday, so I won’t have to go looking for an open bar tonight. We are doing the On-Home at the Hare’s house right here in Alta Vista. Look for a full report on those events tomorrow.
Now, I don’t want to give the impression that my life revolves around beer. But these memes speak to me somehow:
Anyway, it’s all good. Glad to still be in the game.
On this day: May 9, 2017
Kind of like that old joke: “I don’t have a drinking problem–I drink, I get drunk, I fall–no problem!’ On this day in blog history, I wrote about my latest (and thankfully last) blackout in an Itaewon bar: Pride goeth before a fall.
Just for the record, I was NOT drunk at the time. Looking back on it now, I suspect it was related to my COPD breathing issues. My meds seem to have eliminated my need to fall down in bars. That’s a good thing because I do spend me some time in the local drinking establishments.
Date Night
I went on a date last night. A first date. With a gal I met on a dating site called Date in Asia. First time I went out with someone I met on that particular platform. She’s a local woman (lives in Barretto) named Jane. Thirty-five years old, one teenage son. Says she used to work in housekeeping at the Thumbstar hotel before the scamdemic; now, she helps out at her sister’s foodery in Subic. She drinks San Miguel Light beer. That’s about all I know so far.
Jane lives on Rizal street, so I took her to the Arizona resort relatively close by.
Jane had a Filipino dish, the name of which I don’t recall. I had some baby back ribs.
After dinner, I invited Jane to come with me to John’s place for some more beer. She’d never been there and seemed to like the third-floor open-air ambiance.
How did the date go? It went okay. I didn’t feel a strong attraction, but she seems like a nice woman. She expressed an interest in joining a hike with me, so perhaps that will be our second date. We shall see.
I was going to title this post “First date”, but it turns out I’ve used that title previously on a post about my first date after moving to the Philippines. That was with Marissa. Kind of made me sad after re-reading it.
Well, here it is Mother’s Day, and I’m also thinking about my mom. This makes eleven years of missing her on the day devoted to mothers.
That’s all I’ve got today.
On this day: May 8, 2009
On today’s journey through the past, I was surprised to find I had done crappy reviews of two movies. Back in the day, this blog was more than just a diary. The fact that I even watched two films, let alone attempt to review them, was a shock. These days, I hardly ever turn my big-screen smart TV on at all, and when I do, I barely have the patience to sit through a 30-minute television episode. My, how times have changed.
Rockin’ me
Black Rock, that is. Yesterday, the Friday hiking groups took a climb up to Black Rock Mountain, then down the other side, circling back to Barretto on a 7+ kilometer trek that looked like this:
Not a bad morning’s work. You can Relive it here if you like:
A drama-free night, which is always nice.
I was feeling unusually generous and ordered some food from Sit-n-Bull for delivery: chicken wings, chicken fingers, and shanghai lumpia. All the Alley Cats gals got a lady drink to wash the food down.
I popped into Alaska Club for a nightcap and was surprised and sad to see that I was the only customer on a Friday night. There were six dancers on stage with no one to dance for, so I gave them each a 50 peso tip to say thank you for the effort.
Then I called it a night and caught a trike home. In bed at the appointed hour and ready for whatever action today may bring. You’ll hear about it here, so come on back!
On this day: May 7, 2008
Apparently, I was feeling Disconnected fourteen years ago. Seems I’d lost the desire to blog because I didn’t have anything meaningful to say.
“…what is left isn’t all that interesting to me, so I can’t imagine why it would be to any intrepid visitor who might somehow come across this weary blog.”
HaHa! Luckily, I got over that, embraced the emptiness, and kept on blogging!
I’m a stand up guy
Well, what I mean is that yesterday I got stood up. Samantha, the young woman attending school for a degree in HR management, had agreed earlier in the week to meet me at Sit-n-Bull at 3 p.m. for a meal prior to her going to work. I arrived a few minutes early and sent her a message asking “are you coming?” She promptly responded, “where?” Um. I reminded her that she had agreed to meet up with me, and sent screenshots of our messages to that effect. She said she was still at school. “Aren’t you going to work?” I asked. She replied, “maybe I’ll go late or maybe not at all because I’m tired.” I just answered, “all right. Good luck.”
The purpose of the meet-up was so I could get a feel for whether she was legit and worthy of my support. Assuming she would prove to be, I also wanted to get some clarity on how much her education was costing and what kind of assistance she required. I guess in a backhanded way I got my answer. Maybe she just forgot our “date”, but damn, she didn’t even offer any apology. And to say you are just going to blow off work because you are tired does not sound like someone who has much future as a human resources professional. Pretty disappointing really. She sent me a message this morning asking if I would see her at work today and I told her I have darts tonight. I’ve kind of lost interest in this project now.
So, there I am sitting alone like a fool in Sit-n-Bull. I stayed until 4:00 but decided to go somewhere else to eat. John’s place is always a good option, so I took the longish walk across town and climbed the steps to the third-floor bar. I had a “buy one, get one” drink coupon to use there as well. I ordered the pulled pork sandwich and bought the girls behind the bar some fish tacos to share. It was all good as usual.
After finishing my beers I was ready to move on. It had been a while since I’d visited Cheap Charlies, so I made that my next stop. I sat down, ordered a beer, and was soon joined by a lovely young lady on either side of me. And yes, they were thirsty. So, we all drank together and watched the sun go down.
And then I saw the full moon.
After drinking my fill, I was ready to head out. The final coupons in my wallet dictated my destination–Thumbstar. This is a bar I don’t usually frequent, mostly because I don’t like the manager. And that dislike has nothing to do with the fact that he married my crush, Heidi. I believe the last time I visited this venue was when I did the Bars of Barretto review. My, how times have changed! The place was packed. I found a place along the wall to sit my lonesome behind down and take in the scene. My coupons (I had two) were “buy one lady drink, get two customer drinks”. That’s actually a pretty damn good deal, certainly good enough to get me in the door. But I’d have to find a worthy lovely to share in the bounty. I ordered up a beer and looked around to see what might be available. Heidi passed by and briefly greeted me before returning to a big spender’s table. I contented myself with watching the dancers on stage. One of them noticed me looking in her direction, grabbed her friend, and came down to join me. Problem solved I guess.
I’ve been coming to the Philippines since 2008 and have never experienced what happened next. The girls were both very aggressive in trying to spark my interest in spending time with them outside of the bar. Hands rubbing me below the waist, pulling down their tops and showing me their tits, lifting the skirt for a panty shot, and then pulling the panties aside for a pussy view. No thanks. That’s just not my style. Their efforts were having the opposite impact on me so I had no problem declining their entreaties to book a short time room upstairs, come home with me, or just go barhopping. I politely told them I wasn’t in the mood but did reward them with a second lady drink.
With the free drinks consumed, I headed out the door with my integrity (such as it is) intact. Did want to cleanse my palate though, so popped into Outback for one more before heading home. It was my first visit since being rudely treated by my “friend” the bartender. She wasn’t rude last night, but she wasn’t particularly friendly either. One of the waitresses was though and I enjoyed sharing a drink and some banter with her. That’s the difference between a regular bar and a girly bar. The girls aren’t available for “take out” in Outback so they have no reason to be aggressive in the pursuit of a customer. They are very happy to get a lady drink though and will laugh at your jokes in return. That’s a win-win in my book.
There was one strange thing that happened. This Filipino couple comes in to play pool. Both fully masked, which is not that unusual. The girl pulled hers down almost immediately, but the guy left his on (not even a true mask, a totally worthless bandana wrapped around his face). I probably wouldn’t have even noticed, but he came over to the bar for his beer, pulled the mask down, took a swig, and then pulled the mask back up. What an ignorant fool. The bar wasn’t even crowded.
Anyway, to each his own I suppose. It is nice to see the stupid self identify.
I had a solitary and pleasant enough flat walk of 9.5K to start my Thursday. I’ll let Relive tell that story.
Well, I guess I ought to give you the Easter mountain shot at least.
And yes, I did take time to stop and smell the flowers.
And that was my day. Not so typical, but not so bad when it was all said and done.
On this day: May 6, 2018
Four years ago I was winding down the final days of my Korea life. I shared some of those thoughts and feelings in a post called A moving experience.
And that’s the way it went
Made it through another whacked Wednesday. Pleasant enough hike with the Walers (pictures to follow), a 9-4 dart league victory, and then a drunken aftermath. Yeah, just another typical day in the life, right?
Our team is currently in first place in the standings. It occurs to me I shouldn’t be playing on a team because I honestly don’t give a shit about that. My teammates do though, and they get stressed over rolling up big numbers as we play a series of weaker teams in the coming weeks. So, by that standard, our 9-4 victory against Harley’s yesterday was a disappointment. Worse yet, it appears to me that this self-imposed domination goal is affecting the quality of our overall play. I keep telling my mates to just relax, have fun, and the victories will come on their own. So far the message doesn’t seem to be taking hold. Oh well, next season I will just be a substitute. I really don’t enjoy playing in the league all that much and it always makes for a stressful Wednesday to get there on time after the hike.
Yeah, that Jessa. A former girlfriend. I somehow managed to fuck that relationship up too. It was funny in a sad way when one of my teammates nodded toward Jessa and said, “you should go for that, she’d be perfect for you.”. Been there, done that. But honestly, I wouldn’t mind it if Jessa gave me another chance. I’ve put out some tentative feelers in that regard but she doesn’t appear interested in trying again. I don’t really blame her for that.
After darts, me and Kevin went across the street to Da’Kudos for some dinner. The place was deserted. Even the familiar faces of the waitresses I know were missing.
There was a guy behind the bar, so we sat there. I had a club sandwich which was okay, but not as good as Sit-n-Bull. After our meal, Kevin left to go play in the Alley Cats tournament. So I moved next door to Johan’s for a change of scenery. Reyna, one of the gals from the Hash, was there so I joined her at the bar and we enjoyed some beers and banter together. She’s a nice gal and a widow who has dropped some pretty big hints that she’s interested. The attraction isn’t mutual, but I like her as a friend.
Jessa asked if I was going to stop by Lagoon on the way home and I told her I would. Not sure why she wanted me to because she pretty much ignored me. There was a female singer on the stage who was quite talented. I had her sing “I will always love you” and dedicated it to Jessa. Yeah, I was pretty drunk by this point. The best thing for me to do was to catch a trike and go home. I did get a trike but had it drop me off at Queen Victoria. Hey, I had a beer card to finish using. My favorite, Tin-Tin, is no longer working there. I asked the manager why and was told “she didn’t follow the rules”. He later said she came in late and left early. Okay then. But none of the other girls gave me the time of day during my visit. A friendly gal can always get a lady drink or two out of me. That’s money in the bank for the bar. Too bad. I don’t have much reason to go back there now.
So, that was my night. Drunker than usual, but again, I blame darts. Starting at 1:00 just throws me off schedule. Here are the hike photos I promised:
That’s it for now. I’m supposed to have an early dinner with Samantha, the college student I mentioned, before she goes to work today. We’ll see if she shows up.
I hope life treats you kind And I hope you have all you've dreamed of And I'm wishing you joy and happiness But above all this, I wish you love And I... will always love you
On this day: May 5, 2016
It’s a national holiday in Korea (Children’s Day) and also my granddaughter Gracyn’s birthday. Some Seoul photos from a lunchtime walk and other meaningless happenings from my Korean life.
I will say that scrolling through the archives to do these posts can be painful. Lots of memories of my old life with Jee Yeun and photos of happier times. Those days are gone forever, best to just forgive and forget.
Aborted development
Another typical Tuesday in these parts. Happy to report that my weekly ATM visit provided the required bounty without incident. The usual mediocre darts were somehow good enough to make it to the finals.
After darts, Kevin, Alan, and I went to Mango’s for some dinner. We all wound up ordering the pork chops.
The big news from back home is the leaking of a draft Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade. Kevin Kim has a lengthy and thorough post covering the abortion debate from pretty much every angle. I highly recommend giving it a read. Although I strive to avoid politics here at LTG, I do have my own viewpoints on this topic that I’ll share for whatever they are worth.
I’m opposed to abortion and I’m also opposed to the government intruding on the moral choice of whether or not to have one. I do draw the line here though: when the fetus/child is capable of surviving outside the womb, the mother no longer has the choice to terminate what is undeniably a life. If you are going to get an abortion, make up your mind to do so within the first trimester. Or better yet, take the “morning-after pill” and don’t conceive in the first place. These people advocating for the right to choose to abort right up to the moment of birth are arguing for infanticide–there is no moral justification for that action.
When I was in high school I got my girlfriend pregnant. Why we weren’t using readily available birth control is something I can’t explain. A toxic combination of lust and ignorance I suppose. I was 17, she was 16. The state of California had recently passed a law where a minor could choose to have an abortion without parental consent. That’s the route we chose. I went to the clinic with her and stayed with her after the procedure. I remember growing impatient because it took so long for her to be released when the abortion was done. I was am such a jerk. The next day at school she started bleeding, I especially remember the white slacks she was wearing looked like she had pissed blood. Her mother was a nurse so I surmise she figured out what happened, but she never confronted me about it. Our lives went on, she moved away, and the relationship ended. But I still sometimes wonder what that life I helped prevent may have turned out to be.
When I was 19 and my girlfriend was 17, she told me she was pregnant. In my defense, she was supposed to be taking birth control pills, but apparently, she was often forgetful. She was Catholic and abortion was off the table for her, so we decided to give the baby up for adoption. She moved in with me during the pregnancy and when the baby was born and I saw my helpless little girl laying in the hospital crib I knew I could never give her up. We got married instead and I became a father.
When I was 25 and divorced, my girlfriend was attending grad school in Idaho and I was living in Arizona. One weekend I was unable to reach her by phone (this was before email and text messages). I finally got in touch with one of her friends who told me my girlfriend was unavailable to speak with me. I said bullshit, either she calls me now or I’m getting in my car and driving up there to find her. She called and told me she was in the hospital getting an abortion. I said, wait a minute, don’t I have something to say about that too? She replied, No, you are not the father. Damn, that memory still hurts.
When I was 35, I was remarried to a Baptist woman and living in Columbia, SC. We would attend church with the kids every Sunday. In Sunday school class one week the lesson was all about how God gave mankind free will. After class was finished, there was an announcement that there was going to be a march on the South Carolina statehouse in support of legislation banning abortion. I raised my hand and asked, “if God gave man free will, why would you support passing a law to take away that free will?” The teacher responded simply, “It’s a matter of faith”. That was the day I quit the church for good.
So, my position was then and remains, if you oppose abortion try to change minds, not laws. But a human being has the right to life and your “choice” doesn’t change that. Once the fetus becomes viable, it is not abortion, it is murder.
Anyway, that’s how I see it.
Coincidentally, today is Mother’s Day in the Philippines. I was reminded of this song that my nephew sang at my mom’s wake in Enid, Oklahoma more than 11 years ago. You never forget the love of your mother.
So may the sunrise bring hope where it once was forgotten
Sons are like birds flying always over the mountain
On this day: May 4, 2010
Today’s journey through the past is a Trek to Dosonsa Temple. Lots of nice pictures and memories. I really loved this part of my life in Korea. I wish I had appreciated it more at the time.
On this day: May 3, 2007
Greetings and welcome to a new feature here at Long Time Gone. My plan is to scroll the archives and find an interesting post (well, as interesting as it gets around here) to share from this day in blog history. Don’t worry, this won’t replace my “dear diary” posts, it’s just a little something extra for you, my faithful readers. My selfish motivation is to start identifying some stories I might want to highlight someday in a self-published autobiography. That’s just an idea at this point, but you never know.
So, the first entry in this new series is from 15 years ago, back in the early stages of my life in Seoul, Korea. It’s called Those wacky Canadians. What I especially enjoyed about this post was the reference to some of the friendships I had made with some fellow bloggers. Alas, I clicked on the links and those blogs are no longer being updated. And sadly, I’ve lost touch with all of the individuals I mentioned. I guess that’s life. People come and people go.
Enjoy!
Amongst the dead
Yesterday’s Hash began and traveled through the hillside cemetery in the Kalaklan barangay near the old Navy base. It’s a big place filled with crypts and tombs of the dearly departed.
We climbed the steps and crawled up and over some of the crypts in our journey to the top. Of course, reaching the top was only the beginning of our hot and hard Hash trail, courtesy of an Angeles Hasher named Two Bottles. For the folks who did the entire trail, it came in at over 12K. My version was a still tough 7K.
After exiting the cemetery and hiking the Kalaklan ridge road, I shortcut back down the mountain and through the streets of Barretto before making my way to our On-Home at the Viking Resort on Baloy Beach. It was a tough trail, but at least it didn’t kill me.
And so it goes and so it went. Today’s another day, let’s see what happens next.
Streetwalker
That’s what I’ve been reduced to. Or at least I was yesterday. But I went home with some money in my pocket, so I guess I was successful in my efforts.
The fiasco with the ATM last Tuesday left me short on my weekly funds. I was just about out of cash yesterday so I decided to hike the highway to Subic town and visit the BPI ATM there. Sunday sucks for both being on the highway and using the money machine. After a hot 5K walk dodging traffic, I was confronted with a line of several people waiting to withdraw money. I think I’ve mentioned before that generally speaking, Filipinos are the slowest I’ve ever seen operating an ATM. Most of the people in front of me would insert their cards and do a “check balance” transaction, with a printed receipt. Then they would re-insert the card and do a money withdrawal. Some of them actually would pull out a second card and repeat the process. Makes for a frustrating wait for a man of little patience. I was also afraid the machine would run out of cash before it was my turn. That didn’t happen though, and I walked away with a wallet full of pesos.
I’ll confess that the hike out to Subic was so unpleasant that I took a Jeepney back to Barretto. A quiet afternoon at home and then I was ready to roll out and use up some bar coupons. First stop was Hideaway. It’s on the far side of Barretto so I was able to make up some of the steps I had wimped out on earlier in the day. On the way, I stopped at Shamboli’s Pizza and ordered a large Hawaiian (don’t look at me like that, it was for the girls and they love pineapple on their pizza) for delivery.
The pizza came and the girls were pleasantly surprised. It was disappearing from the box so fast I barely managed to get a picture.
I had also promised Joy that I’d help her pay for a PhilHealth insurance plan for her and her kids. 1500 pesos buys the first three months, so she’s covered for now.
Since it was Sunday I wanted to once again participate in the raffle at It Doesn’t Matter. Hey, I’m kind of addicted to those bar coupons now. Got there in plenty of time to purchase my tickets (6 for 500 pesos) and wait for the drawing. And wait I did. I guess the time is kind of fluid because six o’clock came and went and no tickets had been pulled. I went inside to see what was happening and got a look at this week’s prizes–5 bottles of booze and NO bar coupons. What the hell? So, I told my waitress friend Agnes she could have my tickets and keep any prize she won in the drawing. I saw later that none of my tickets had been drawn anyway. Oh well, the money collected is for a good cause.
After leaving IDM, I popped into The Green Room. I still had two tickets to expend there and I got down to business. My “friend” Samantha was nowhere to be seen, so I tried to send her a message on Facebook. That’s when I discovered she had unfriended me. Hmm. No idea what that’s all about, but I didn’t shed any tears either.
In due course, a young gal came to my table and asked do you remember me? I kinda did. Last time I was here I had asked for “Samantha” and she had responded, “I’m Samantha”. The wrong one then, but the only one now, so I asked her to join me. I had a lady drink coupon I need to use anyway.
We did have an interesting chat. This Samantha is only 18 years old, which is kinda scary, but she turns 19 in June. Still a teenager though. In the course of our conversation, she told me she goes to school during the day and works at the bar to pay her tuition. Naturally, I asked what she was studying and she told me Human Resources Management. Hey! I’ve heard of that! I told her I’d retired as an HR manager and to let me know if I could help her in any way. So, now I have a new Samantha as my Facebook friend.
We chatted a bit this morning and she seems legit. Don’t get the wrong idea here. I am not interested in dating or even fucking a teenager. One thing I’ve wanted to do since moving here was to find a worthy student to sponsor. And a chance meeting with someone who wants to be an HR professional is pretty cool. It must be hard to go to school all day and work all night. Once I get a feeling that she is trustworthy I’ll consider providing some tuition assistance so she can focus more on school than the bar. Right now it is a wait-and-see situation. Might try and arrange a lunch meeting with her to discuss how we might proceed. Stay tuned.
I moved next door to Wet Spot to use my last coupon in that venue. I had it in my mind that Aine was off on Sunday so I was surprised when she almost immediately showed up at my table. That’s okay, I bought her a drink and we chatted. The waitress from Sit-n-Bull came around so we ordered a light dinner (a burrito for me, nachos for her). Daddy Dave wasn’t there but the manager, Brett, sent a free beer to my table. A good strategy, because I wound up staying long enough to order another lady drink for Aine while I finished my beer.
Just another night in paradise, and I’m glad to be here enjoying it.
Hash Monday coming up next. Not sure what to expect, but it does involve a truck ride to Olongapo and that means we’ll be climbing the Kalaklan ridge at some point. On-Home is at Viking on Baloy, so it is going to be a long walk for sure. More about that tomorrow.
She’s not a vile Lyn…
…and that’s music to my ears. I don’t feel like she’s trying to play me or pull my strings. Her seemingly good heart will be instrumental in whether we will go forward in concert. Her performance over the past couple of days led to a symphony of emotions and a satisfying climax.
Okay, I’ve stretched that pun just about as far as it is going to go, but it was fun (for me). Anyway, the point is, I enjoyed Lyn’s short visit and that’s a good start. I’m not feeling any of the love emotions at this point, but she is very high on the companionship scale. Honestly, that may be more than enough at this stage of my life.
Lyn had to leave early because there was no one at home to watch over her nine-year-old son. She wants to bring him with her the next time she visits. I asked where he would stay and she said she’ll get them a room. I know a mother is always going to put her child first, so it’s not a matter of whether I like it or not. I suggested a couple of hotels with nice pools they would enjoy. She plans to bring a helper to watch the boy while we go out. We’ll see how that works out.
Our last morning together was pleasant enough. I asked Lyn if she would like to join me for a hike and she agreed.
I took her on an abbreviated one-hour version of one of my standard hikes. She seemed to enjoy it.
We concluded our jaunt with breakfast at Harley’s on Baloy Beach road.
Once we returned to the house we just hung out some on the back patio. Another positive for Lyn is that she likes my boys. I brought home some leftovers from breakfast and she insisted on treating Buddy and Lucky.
A short nap, then it was time to head back into town to catch a ride to the bus station in Olongapo. We had a quick lunch at Mango’s prior to Lyn’s departure.
When lunch was done we stood on the highway waiting for a Jeepney. It was hot. Then a cab pulled up and I put Lyn in it and gave her the fare. A much more comfortable ride and she deserved it.
The house felt really empty when I got back home. It’s funny how quickly you get used to having someone around. But then it was Saturday evening and it was time once again for me to hit the town. I like to start early (around 4:30 or 5:00) and finish early (before 9:00), but now that the curfew has been lifted quite a few bars are opening as late as 6:00. I still have coupons to burn and the May 8 expiration date is fast approaching. Hot Zone and Wet Spot were on my itinerary, but both hadn’t opened when I first passed by so I made It Doesn’t Matter my first stop.
After a couple of beers, the coveted 6 p.m. opening hour was upon me. But rather than deal with the “first customer of the day” syndrome, I thought a quick snack at Sit-n-Bull was in order. I was delighted when I looked in the cake and pie cooler to see one last pecan pie available for purchase. When I pulled it out, the gals thought I was there for takeout and had a bag ready to go. Nope. I explained I wanted the pie heated in the microwave, and then I wanted a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. Yes, sir! My waitress wanted some ice cream too, so of course, I accommodated her request. And to be fair, I bought a scoop for the other five waitresses.
With the pie safely stashed away in my stomach, I made my way to Hot Zone. It was still early, but there were a couple of other customers in the bar. My coupon here was “buy a lady drink, get a customer drink”, which meant I needed to find a worthy lady. My waitress is my usual suspect, but she dropped my beer at the table and disappeared. There were five dancers on stage, but none of them really tripped my triggers. I finally decided on one dancer but a guy at the other table beat me to the punch. Oh well. My beer was now empty and my waitress still had not returned. Fuck it then, I’m out of here. Paid my tab and approached a guy I’m slightly acquainted with who was sharing a drink with the mamasan. I gave him my two coupons and said it looks like you can use these more than I can.
Wet Spot was my next stop. I used a “buy one, get one” customer drink coupon and got down to work. The dance crew at Wet Spot was much better than what I had just seen at Hot Zone. I was using my imagination as the girls danced when my carnal thoughts were interrupted by Aine joining me at my table. Well, I did have a “buy a lady drink, get a customer drink” coupon to use, so I welcomed her company.
Anyway, Aine asked the waitress to take a picture of us together.
I wasn’t feeling it last night, so I finished the beers in my queue, paid my tab, then made my way for the door. Once again, Daddy Dave was there and foisted a free beer on me. How could I refuse? A brief chat, including the sad tale of a 72-year-old expat who is sitting in jail because of false charges brought against him by a disgruntled bargirl. That is my nightmare scenario, and I always do my best to keep my drunken self out of any kind of trouble. Just be nice to everyone and walk away from the assholes.
Just a tad past 8 p.m. when I grabbed a trike for home. I enjoy my beers and chatting with the gals, but after a couple of hours of that nonsense, I’m ready to call it a night. That’s just how this old guy rolls these days.
That’s today’s update. I’ll probably burn up a couple more of my bar coupons tonight and take it from there. It may not be much of a life, but it’s the best life I’ve got.
Here’s a way to kill a few minutes. I got 26 out of 30 right, including some lucky guesses. Must have been one of those increasingly rare lucid moments for me.
Bushwhacking
What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us.–Ralph Waldo Emerson
Yesterday was a full and mostly pleasurable day. It was nice to have someone with me on the hike. The group was more than a little taken aback when I came strolling up hand in hand with a cutie pie. A similar reaction when I brought her with me to Alley Cats for the darts tournament. The gals really seemed to take a liking to Lyn right away, especially the ones who are also from her home province of Samar. The guys seemed impressed as well. It’s been a long time since I had someone cheering me on during a match. I could never get my ex-girlfriend to come out and join me.
Lyn hasn’t ever been a dart player, but she showed a lot of interest in the game. During my warmup time, she joined in throwing at the board. As a complete beginner, she didn’t have much control, but with practice, I’m sure she’d develop some skills for the game. Once the tournament began, she watched the games intently and asked questions, so the interest is there.
As usual, over the course of the evening, I had moments of brilliance surrounded by demonstrations of complete ineptness. Still, I managed to come back and make it to the finals. Nancy, one of the better players participating, knocked me into the losers bracket. I met her again in the finals and took the first match 2-0. Prior to the deciding match, I asked if she’d prefer to split the money and call it a tie. She agreed.
As I mentioned above, Lyn was an enthusiastic participant in the Friday group hike. I was really quite impressed with her strength and stamina on a more difficult than usual trail and on a hot day. What I liked the most was she hung with me at the back of the pack, offering support along the way (doing things like wiping the sweat off my face and offering words of encouragement). My former Hashing girlfriend did her own thing and I rarely saw her until we were back at the On-Home venue. So again, I really appreciated Lyn’s caring nature.
We were attempting a trail that no one has tried since 2013 or so, which made it completely new to me. We went up into the hills near Naugsol with the intent to circle back around through Subic town. Things don’t always go according to plan. Somewhere early in our quest to the summit of the first hill, we lost our trail. Obviously, no one had been up that way in quite some time, so our path was obscured by thickets of bamboo and jungle-like vines and plants. The worst of the latter was covered in thorns and those fuckers were unforgiving should you have the misfortune of touching them. Pricks in my fingers and one even poked a hole in my ear. I also had a thorny branch stick its bristles in my shirt and it was a helluva battle to free myself without actually touching the damn thing. Anyway, bushwhacking is my least favorite activity on these hikes and it is something we usually can avoid. I felt bad for Lyn and told her that most of our hikes are a lot more pleasant than this one. She didn’t seem to mind, saying it reminded her of her childhood walks with her father in rural Samar.
Let’s go to the photos then, shall we?
Despite the missed trail and hard work making our way through the jungle, it was a fun hike. Thanks for joining us, Lyn.
Lyn left for home this afternoon. More thoughts to share on our time together tomorrow.