If you are depressed, you are living in the past.
If you are anxious, you are living in the future.
To be content, you must live in the present.

When you get what you want in your struggle for self
And the world makes you king for a day
Just go to the mirror and look at yourself
And see what that man has to say.

For it isn’t your father, or mother, or wife
Whose judgment upon you must pass
The fellow whose verdict counts most in your life
Is the one staring back from the glass.

He’s the fellow to please – never mind all the rest
For he’s with you, clear to the end
And you’ve passed your most difficult, dangerous test
If the man in the glass is your friend.

You may fool the whole world down the pathway of years
And get pats on the back as you pass
But your final reward will be heartache and tears
If you’ve cheated the man in the glass.
–Paul Dale Wimbrow

Greetings from the lovely retirement community of Barrio Barretto. With over fifty bars to serve you here, being bored or lonely is a matter of choice. We’ve got beaches and mountains to enjoy, lots of dining options, and plenty of friendly Filipinas ready to assist in fulfilling your needs. Compare that to vanilla places like Sun City, Arizona, and you will be happy you chose to spend your golden years in a town where your money goes further, and age is just a number.

See, I told you I was going to strive for a more positive attitude! If I spend the remainder of my time amongst the living like I did yesterday, I’ll be satisfied. No, it was nothing out of the ordinary, but that’s the point; ordinary here is extraordinary compared to sitting around playing cards in a retirement home stateside. Let the good times roll!

We began our Saturday with the usual Decay Dance.

As we got closer to Easter Mountain during our Dance, I noticed there had been a recent burn there as well, probably while we were in Pundaquit. The Easter Monday Hash is on the horizon, but I’m doubting I’ll be able to make the Easter Mountain climb this year. Part of aging gracefully is accepting and adapting to your increased physical limitations. We’ll see.

I decided to change things up for our Saturday night out by making a rare visit to Harley’s, located on the road to Baloy. It had been months since we were last here.

It was a busy day on the bay.

When we were ready to move on for our nightcap, we headed out to Wet Spot. With Green Room still closed for renovation and both bar crews working out of Wet Spot, it was pretty packed. Like last time, I felt obligated to take care of my regulars from both bars with lady drinks. Better than the drama of them fighting over me, right? And yes, I’m being facetious. These gals have been serving me for years now and I am happy to help make their night a little more profitable.

Then it was time to scurry back home before my early bedtime. I made a tasty batch of strawberry-banana smoothies, and they were a sweet ending to a sweet day.

From the Facebook memories, an old photo of my workmates in Korea in 2005:

Continuing on with the March 2018 LTG archives, a meeting with the Korean Employees Union brought me back to Seoul. Naturally, I spent the night and partied in Itaewon with some old friends, then went back to Pyeongtaek the next morning and climbed a mountain. Life’s a Dance, indeed. It was nice to feel happy for a change.

In today’s YouTube video, The Filipina Pea interviews foreigners about their impressions upon visiting the Philippines. Very similar to my experiences: friendly locals, happy despite living in poverty, loud and littered, cheaper, an easy visa process, and you can get by speaking only English. It’s not for everyone for sure, but it works for me, and I’m happy to call it home.

Humor time:

And on that note, I’m positive there’s nothing left to say today.