It’s a holiday weekend here in the Philippines. Yesterday was Halloween, today is All Saints Day, and tomorrow is All Souls Day. It’s a big deal here, and the cemeteries will be packed on Sunday with family gatherings and celebrations to remember those who have passed. Where I grew up, it was only about the trick-or-treating. Today’s YouTube from the Pea explains the Filipino traditions in more detail.
So, my Halloween this year consisted of an 8K street walk from the Subic marketplace back to Barretto. Then I attended the funeral for the SOB dance contest. It was a rather sad affair. I’ll get to that later in this post, but to keep things sequential, we’ll start with the walk.
I walked through the gate for the first time yesterday. Big, wide streets, paved in concrete and tree-lined. Very nice despite the ghostly vibe. It felt a little like being in a Stephen King novel.
Next on the day’s agenda was attending the final SOB, held at Wet Spot.
Only three bars competed last night, another reason the SOB has been on life support for quite some time now. All participating teams had nice costumes and put some effort into their performances. Creepy Halloween gear and sexy dancing seem to me to be incompatible, but I guess monsters need love, too.
And then it was all over and done with after more than twenty years of weekly competitions. Things change, and life goes on.
So, after making sure I had drunk enough to cover my 750 peso SOB entrance fee, I was ready to head home when the show ended at 8 pm. And that’s just what I did.
Back in January 2015, I linked to a post of mine written on New Year’s Day 2005 from Oklahoma, where I was visiting my parents as I looked towards an unknown future in Korea. Here’s what I had to say back then:
And that leads to my current insight on this New Year’s morning. I never really had a plan for life; I just reacted to it. Whenever I reached a crossroad, 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. Good people got hurt along the way, and for that I am truly sorry. But 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. This year brings a new road in Seoul, Korea. And it will be an adventure with an uncertain outcome for sure. My point (if there is one) is just to say that I have discovered it is important to take the time to enjoy the life you are living, even as you chase rainbows. I think I missed the best part of Oklahoma, and it is only in looking back that I realize that I should have allowed myself to be happy there.
Reading the above this morning had me shaking my head, realizing I never truly learned that lesson. I spent a year in Pyeongtaek, missing the life I’d left behind in Seoul and looking ahead to my upcoming life in the Philippines. I was too foolish to appreciate all the good things that surrounded me back then, and it is only in looking back sadly at what should have been an enjoyable chapter in my life if I’d only allowed myself to live in the moment. So, for better or worse, I’m embracing this life of mine in the Philippines, warts and all.
Today’s post from the January 2015 LTG archives is a tribute I wrote to my friend and workmate, Dennis McPeters, upon his retirement from government service. I met him back in our Postal Service days, and he had become one of my best friends over the years. I last saw him three years ago in Cambodia, where he was living. He hasn’t responded to my emails for over a year now, and I fear the worst. I sent him another today, just in case they have Gmail in heaven.
Here’s the YouTube video from the Filipina Pea I mentioned earlier in this post:
Smile while you can in life:
That’s enough for today, don’t you think?
It is hard to believe that this song is fifty years old now. Where does the time go?
Re: SOB contest
Yeah, it was held too often. Weekly is way too frequent for something like that. Hard to keep it fresh. The bar of Nana Plaza in Thailand (and maybe some of the other red light districts) used to have a VERY irregular dance contest. Maybe held a couple times a year. Always really well attended. Dont know if it was just a lot of work to put together or if the proprietors were smart enough to know that making something scarce seems to make it more valuable, but it worked there.
(I was expecting to see you in your zombie office worker costume. I thought that was kind of a tradition. LOL)
“My costume was invisible”, you went naked ?
Thanks for last night
Brian’s right—rarer is more valuable. Once per season, with a seasonal theme, seems reasonable. Also: more time to practice and to invent innovative, flashy dance moves.
Kevin, yeah, I got to where I was only attending once a month or so anyway. Oh well, we’ll see what happens next. Some other bars in town are doing an occasional “Battle of the Bars” thing, but I haven’t bothered to attend yet.
Terence, you are welcome.
Terry, HaHa! No, I wasn’t naked, but I like the way you think! 🙂 I meant you had to imagine my regular clothes were a costume.
Brian, Good points. Too much frequency and diminished quality are a bad combination. When I first attended, eight bars were competing. In the past few months, there were only four, and half of those might have consisted of two uninterested girls standing there, swaying for a few minutes. I guess 20+ years was long enough for the SOB.
There could still be a market for shows like this. As you say, make them monthly or even quarterly. Add some new bars and fresh faces to the mix. Do more promotion. Sadly, since the founder, Dave Fisher, is ill and seeking to sell his bars, I doubt we’ll see a resurrection.
For some reason, my zombie office worker costume doesn’t fit me now. Go figure.
Why bother jotting down Hot Zone on your score card? Jay hasn’t fielded a team in the Sons of Bacchus in years. Does HIV still hash? Mo must be turning in his grave now that silly nonsense is kaputt. He loved all that shit.
Aloysius, I was just listing the teams I used to watch and enjoy for old time’s sake. Nope, Jay/HIV quit the Hash years ago, too. Mo ain’t in the grave yet, but the SOB he founded is. Yeah, it was his pride and joy, but once he couldn’t promote it anymore, it withered and died on the vine.