My dinner plans last night for a pulled pork sandwich and coleslaw at Sit-n-Bull were thwarted by an early evening thunderstorm. I opted to pop into Mangos when the rain started instead.

Here’s how it looked just before the big storm hit:

I had to retreat inside from my regular patio perch because the water was blowing all over me out there. I wound up sitting at the bar and then realized I was sitting on the stool the recently deceased Philip used to occupy. I couldn’t help but think of the lonely guy parallels and wondered if I too would wind up dying alone. Yeah, pretty depressing train of thought so I decided to distract myself but checking in with the internet. And there I noticed that James had left a comment on my post from earlier in the day:

Both of your exes are wishing you happiness. A double dose of happiness and a long rejuvenating walk followed by a beer with a view of the ocean.

You are living the good life that we can only hope for.

Well, yeah. When you put it like that I am indeed pretty damn blessed. Sometimes you just have to take a step back see things as they are instead of how your messed up brain is interpreting reality. It made me recollect that I had wasted my year in Pyeongtaek being depressed about what I didn’t have. Looking back now I see that I had it made: great pay, nice house paid for by the government, some good hiking and biking trails, and bars that were fun to hang out in after dark. I should have taken advantage of those days by making them happy ones. So, I don’t want to repeat that mistake here.

And right about the time my mood was improving, the rain stopped and I moved back outside to the patio.

Then I ordered up some dinner and had a nice chat with Gee, the Mangos manager. I can’t remember if I’ve mentioned her before or not. I was crushing on her a while back and asked why she was still single. She told me “I guess I just haven’t met a guy who is my type”. I said we should get together for dinner sometime. She responded, “you’re not my type”. Ouch! We’ve talked some more since then and I think we might have more in common than she realized. She invited me to participate in some of her charity projects and I was happy about that. No, I haven’t given up on my vow of singleness already. And I never promised to be celibate either! Anyway, I have no expectations with her beyond friendship.

I left Mangos in a better mood than I had been when I entered, and not just because of the beer. Given that I had still had some time on the clock with the expanded curfew, I popped into Queen Victoria to see what was up. It’s been a while and the staff that remembers me were friendly and welcoming. That’s always nice. Chatted some with the manager and it looks like Queen Vic might be a new On-Home venue for the Hash later this month. That would be great for me as it is the closest bar in town to my house.

I stumbled on home and for whatever reason didn’t sleep well. Had a crazy dream in which I was working again and slapped a co-worker friend on the ass in jest. And I got canceled for it which seemed to be an overreaction. Oh well, I’d have to really fuck up to lose my pension. I guess if Biden gets elected my money might not be worth anything, but I’ll worry about that in November if need be.

I used the morning hours hiking out the old Navy base and back. That was about 12K. I’ll never do it on a weekday again though. Too much traffic and inconsiderate drivers along with an inadequate shoulder are a potential recipe for disaster. No need to push my luck.

So, that’s my perspective on things.

Now some they do and some they don’t
And some you just can’t tell
And some they will and some they won’t
With some it’s just as well

You can laugh at my behavior
That’ll never bother me
Say the devil is my savior
But I don’t pay no heed

And I will go on shining
Shining like brand new
I’ll never look behind me
My troubles will be few

Goodbye stranger it’s been nice
Hope you find your paradise
Tried to see your point of view
Hope your dreams will all come true
Goodbye Mary, Goodbye Jane
Will we ever meet again
Feel no sorrow, feel no shame
Come tomorrow, feel no pain