I survived another titillating day in paradise, even if I was full of shit. As usual, I did my morning solo hike with intentions of doing my standard San Isidro/Calapacuan/Barretto trail. Alas, about halfway through my journey, the rumbling in my stomach warned that an explosion was imminent. I caught a trike home and took care of business before I soiled myself. Tragedy averted!
Seeing as how I’d only done a little over 4K, I decided to make up the difference with a jaunt through the neighborhood. That gave me almost 9K total for the morning, and I’m satisfied with that effort. I’ll share some photos of both hikes later in the post.
Two weeks into the diet/exercise routine and the weigh-in didn’t show any significant weight loss since last week. I’ll keep on keeping on, though. A couple of folks have commented that my belly looks smaller, but I’m not seeing it. It’s possible the ab work makes it have less sag, but I’m still needing to lose at least twelve more pounds to reach my goal.
In the meantime, I’ll continue to enjoy the things I enjoy as best as I am able. I had a visitor in the afternoon that I was able to in Joy. Took her for some grub at Sit-n-Bull afterward, then sent her home with some goodies and a little extra money in her pocket. She seemed pleased.
The “big” news from yesterday was the grand re-opening of Johannson’s. They’ve been closed now for over three years, and no one expected them to be back, but here they are again. It is a nice place to hang out, with a bar, restaurant, and some rooms to let if you need somewhere to stay. For many years it was the Hash On-Home venue where we did our sign-ups each week. Another place on my growing list of new bars in Barretto to review.
Anyway, since I’m retired from darts and don’t like big crowds, I left after one drink. I’ll be back soon, though.
Next stop was IDM, and they were pretty busy too. My favorite waitress wasn’t working, and I got bored, so I moved on after a couple of drinks. Crossed the street and climbed the stairs to Cheap Charlies. And what do you know, Marilou was actually available to drink with me. I really do enjoy her company, and I’m planning to meet and eat with her before work one day soon.
And the view inside:
There were other tell-tell signs as well:
Maybe it was just a coincidence, but Facebook shared this memory from 2015 with me this morning:
Anyway, it was a nice time at Cheap Charlies, but I still had one more stop on my bar hop to make: a visit to my friend Bhel at Outback. I was the only customer, which is somewhat unusual for this bar. I was introduced to the two new (and only) waitresses on duty. Of course, being the gentleman that I am, I felt obligated to buy them a welcome drink.
And that’s where the good times ended. Caught a trike home, made a smoothie, then hit the hay.
This was the view I enjoyed when I arrived home:
I came across this piece of work on my internet travels and thought it was quite apropos for the interesting times in which we live:
Talked to an Australian friend and fellow Hasher today. He hasn’t been around for a week or so, and he said he had tested positive for Covid. And yes, he’s been vaccinated three times.
Alright, enough of that nonsense. Let’s enjoy some photos from my morning walk(s):
That’s about as good as it gets around here for me these days. It is Friday, and that means another SOB is on tap. You can’t go wrong watching sexy gals dance, right? I’ll be back tomorrow!
Glad you made it home before your ass made its declaration. Nice walk with nice views and great skies. And congrats on the apparent weight loss! Question, though: if you get back down to 200 pounds, will you stop there, or will you keep chipping away until the belly is totally gone?
Ideally, I would like to get back to 195, then float there, with 200 being the trigger to re-invoke austerity. We’ll see if my attention span can hold out that long.
Great that you have your favorite bar back. How they managed to bounce back after 3 years is a miracle 🙏 What’s the story with the 😷 masks?
I’m sure there’s some policy and rules in place, but I wonder what the behavior and actions of many of your community members are.
Half have masks on, the other have them beneath the chin. I’ll assume that there was a massive vaccination drive 🚗 in recent months so most people would have been vaccinated. Not to kick-start another back-and-forth between you and some of your readers, I am just curious as how masks are being worn indoors or outside your favorite establishments.
In some places where masks are optional , there has been some interesting results 🤔
Easter mountain ⛰️ still looks good. I’m sure the monsoon typhoons will start soon and you’ll get your chance to visit a country where you can drink outside with no sweltering heat.
Is Outback like the Australian chain , but just in a bar format? A place like that should be teeming with punters
Thanks for your comment, Billy. Regarding masks, it is still technically required that they be worn outside and in certain indoor establishments. I wear a mask once a week so I can shop at the grocery store, but otherwise, I let freedom ring. Filipinos seem to have a compliant nature, but more and more, I’m seeing the masks come off. Maybe 60% wearing them properly, and the rest either wear them on the chin or not at all.
No, Outback is just the name of the hotel wear the bar is located. Aussie owner but nothing like the steakhouse.