'Twas in another lifetime One of toil and blood When blackness was a virtue The road was full of mud I came in from the wilderness A creature void of form "Come in," she said, "I'll give ya Shelter from the storm"
We’ve had unseasonable rain these past two days. Whether that’s related to my current water outage, I can’t say. As I understand the third-hand version of events, Subic Water has a broken pipeline somewhere, and they’ll fix it as soon as they can find it. In the meantime, the residents of Alta Vista can’t flush a toilet or take a shower. In a display of just how confident I am that the problem will be resolved promptly, I’ve already booked a room for tonight.
My “date” with Nerissa went okay except for her arriving ten minutes late to our agreed-upon rendevous location at the 7/11 on Baloy Road. I got there ten minutes early because that’s what being on-time means to me. Filipinas are so notorious for being late that they even have a name for it–Filipina time. I was disappointed that Nerissa wasn’t an exception to the rule.
Anyway, she made some amends when she suggested that we walk to Baloy Beach, so that’s what we did. She’d never been to the floating bar, so we started out there. Given the stormy weather, we were the only customers. The water was rougher than normal as well, so the bar was rockin’, but not in the good kind of way. I was a little worried at first that Nerissa was going to experience a bout of seasickness, but she adapted quickly and wound up enjoying the motion.
So, we enjoyed a few beers on board, and then it was time for dinner. I took Nerissa to Da’Kudos, which has the same owner and menu as one of my favorites, Mango’s. Alas, but not the same kitchen crew. I ordered the grilled pork chops, and Nerissa went with seafood chowder and fried calamari. It took over forty-five minutes to get our food. The food itself was okay, but not really worth the wait. We ate and left.
I took Nerissa for a nighttime beach walk which was surprisingly pleasant. My sight isn’t that good, but I saw something floating in the dark water and jokingly said, “It’s a dead body!” A voice responded, “No, I’m okay.” That gave me a startle and a chuckle because I didn’t really think it was a human.
I took Nerissa to McCoy’s beach bar for our nightcap. She wanted to videoke and said for me to go first. Well, I was drunk enough to be in a singing mood, so I did my rendition of Patsy Cline’s Crazy, one of my videoke standards.
We needed to get some assistance with making additional song selections, but the bar staff at McCoy’s couldn’t be bothered to pay us any attention. I was also drunk enough to let that fact of life here piss me off, so we finished our beers and left. Walked back to the trike stand on the National Highway, where I intended to put Nerissa in one for her ride home, but she insisted on riding with me, then dropping me off at home and continuing on her way. Okay, fine, so that’s what we did.
I had a message from Nerissa when I woke up, saying she made it home safely and thanking me for the night out. You’re welcome.
I had a nice chat with Hazel, the gal I met on Date In Asia, this morning. I’m looking forward to meeting her in person next week. I think she is too. Not a bargirl, early 30s, licensed caregiver, and has worked in several countries overseas. The kind of girl my readers have suggested would be more to my liking. One step at a time, but we are off to a positive start, I think.
None of the Friday hikers were up for a walk in the rain, so I did my standard solo street walk in Barretto.
I saw a lot of pussy on this morning’s hike too:
And when I got home, my Buddy boy was so excited to see me:
Oh, I almost forgot about my lunch yesterday–a turkey dinner with all the fixins.
Now I guess I’ll go pack my bag, then head into town for a shower. I’m doing the SOB tonight for the first time in a month or so, and I’m almost looking forward to it. And since I’m staying in a hotel room nearby, my drunken stumble home shouldn’t be a problem. Well, except for the crossing the highway part.
I’m leaving for San Antonio and the Fralics at the Fleet Reserve Association (FRA) at noon. Tomorrow’s main event is the chili cookoff, so we’ll see how that goes. Mary invited herself along, but that’s okay. What kind of Sugar Daddy would I be if I said no?
During my walk this morning, that Bob Dylan tune that provided the title and introduction for today’s post came up on a playlist Spotify suggested for me. I hadn’t heard it for decades, and I rather enjoyed listening to it again. Perhaps you will too.
Well, I'm living in a foreign country But I'm bound to cross the line Beauty walks a razor's edge Someday I'll make it mine If I could only turn back the clock To when God and her were born "Come in," she said, "I'll give ya Shelter from the storm"
re: Filipina time
While that’s rather gender-specific, I’ll put that right up there alongside Korean time and Italian time.
I ordered the grilled pork chops, and Nerissa went with seafood chowder and fried calamari.
I’m gonna have to side with Nerissa on this one. Pork chops can be awesome (best one I ever had was cooked on a grill in Irrigon, Oregon, in 2008), but in my book, they rarely beat seafood chowder and fried calamari.
Sorry if I disappointed you!
Did the cats accept your apology? (Sometimes, deliberate misunderstandings [of captions] are the best misunderstandings.)
Hungry Man dinners are not nearly as good as I remember thinking they were.
That “meal” looks, frankly, depressing. And I think you’re slowly becoming more of a foodie, which means you have standards. I’ve seen hints of this in previous posts, such as when you complain about a skimpy pulled-pork sandwich. Ain’t nuthin’ wrong with knowing what you want.
Are you making chili for the cookoff, or are you just partaking? Your chili always looks good, and you’ve mentioned that people compliment it every time you bring it forth, so why not participate in the cookoff? Even if you win nothing, word of your chili will spread far and wide, leading to the legend of Chilijawn McCrarey, Master of Meat, Beater of Beans, Captain of Capsicum.
Ten minutes late is a real bargain. She could be a keeper! 🤣
Cheers
Good point, Drain Snake!
Kev, Yeah, and I imagine it was the pork chops that took longer to prepare as well. I won’t make that mistake again, at least at Da’Kudos.
Your take on the caption is a CATastrophe!
Yeah, buying that Hungry Man frozen dinner was as much about nostalgia (and laziness) as anything. And if you think the box looks depressing, you should have seen the mess that came out of the microwave. Almost inedible.
Well, I’m a long way from being a true foodie, but thanks for the compliment. Seeing your creations and tasting John Kim’s kitchen work confirms my amateur status. Still, I’m learning from the masters, and I have a greater appreciation for what it takes to create a worthy meal.
My chili is a good example of what a short cutter I am in the kitchen. Canned beans and tomatoes, packaged chili seasoning, ground beef, and onion. It usually tastes good to me, and most people seem to like it, but there is really nothing special about it. Still, it might be fun to see how my concoction ranks with the connoisseurs at a chili cookoff. There is a four-hour time limit on preparation, so I’d have to dial the crockpot up to “high.” Ah, the challenges!