That’s what I’ve been reduced to. Or at least I was yesterday. But I went home with some money in my pocket, so I guess I was successful in my efforts.
The fiasco with the ATM last Tuesday left me short on my weekly funds. I was just about out of cash yesterday so I decided to hike the highway to Subic town and visit the BPI ATM there. Sunday sucks for both being on the highway and using the money machine. After a hot 5K walk dodging traffic, I was confronted with a line of several people waiting to withdraw money. I think I’ve mentioned before that generally speaking, Filipinos are the slowest I’ve ever seen operating an ATM. Most of the people in front of me would insert their cards and do a “check balance” transaction, with a printed receipt. Then they would re-insert the card and do a money withdrawal. Some of them actually would pull out a second card and repeat the process. Makes for a frustrating wait for a man of little patience. I was also afraid the machine would run out of cash before it was my turn. That didn’t happen though, and I walked away with a wallet full of pesos.
I’ll confess that the hike out to Subic was so unpleasant that I took a Jeepney back to Barretto. A quiet afternoon at home and then I was ready to roll out and use up some bar coupons. First stop was Hideaway. It’s on the far side of Barretto so I was able to make up some of the steps I had wimped out on earlier in the day. On the way, I stopped at Shamboli’s Pizza and ordered a large Hawaiian (don’t look at me like that, it was for the girls and they love pineapple on their pizza) for delivery.
The pizza came and the girls were pleasantly surprised. It was disappearing from the box so fast I barely managed to get a picture.
I had also promised Joy that I’d help her pay for a PhilHealth insurance plan for her and her kids. 1500 pesos buys the first three months, so she’s covered for now.
Since it was Sunday I wanted to once again participate in the raffle at It Doesn’t Matter. Hey, I’m kind of addicted to those bar coupons now. Got there in plenty of time to purchase my tickets (6 for 500 pesos) and wait for the drawing. And wait I did. I guess the time is kind of fluid because six o’clock came and went and no tickets had been pulled. I went inside to see what was happening and got a look at this week’s prizes–5 bottles of booze and NO bar coupons. What the hell? So, I told my waitress friend Agnes she could have my tickets and keep any prize she won in the drawing. I saw later that none of my tickets had been drawn anyway. Oh well, the money collected is for a good cause.
After leaving IDM, I popped into The Green Room. I still had two tickets to expend there and I got down to business. My “friend” Samantha was nowhere to be seen, so I tried to send her a message on Facebook. That’s when I discovered she had unfriended me. Hmm. No idea what that’s all about, but I didn’t shed any tears either.
In due course, a young gal came to my table and asked do you remember me? I kinda did. Last time I was here I had asked for “Samantha” and she had responded, “I’m Samantha”. The wrong one then, but the only one now, so I asked her to join me. I had a lady drink coupon I need to use anyway.
We did have an interesting chat. This Samantha is only 18 years old, which is kinda scary, but she turns 19 in June. Still a teenager though. In the course of our conversation, she told me she goes to school during the day and works at the bar to pay her tuition. Naturally, I asked what she was studying and she told me Human Resources Management. Hey! I’ve heard of that! I told her I’d retired as an HR manager and to let me know if I could help her in any way. So, now I have a new Samantha as my Facebook friend.
We chatted a bit this morning and she seems legit. Don’t get the wrong idea here. I am not interested in dating or even fucking a teenager. One thing I’ve wanted to do since moving here was to find a worthy student to sponsor. And a chance meeting with someone who wants to be an HR professional is pretty cool. It must be hard to go to school all day and work all night. Once I get a feeling that she is trustworthy I’ll consider providing some tuition assistance so she can focus more on school than the bar. Right now it is a wait-and-see situation. Might try and arrange a lunch meeting with her to discuss how we might proceed. Stay tuned.
I moved next door to Wet Spot to use my last coupon in that venue. I had it in my mind that Aine was off on Sunday so I was surprised when she almost immediately showed up at my table. That’s okay, I bought her a drink and we chatted. The waitress from Sit-n-Bull came around so we ordered a light dinner (a burrito for me, nachos for her). Daddy Dave wasn’t there but the manager, Brett, sent a free beer to my table. A good strategy, because I wound up staying long enough to order another lady drink for Aine while I finished my beer.
Just another night in paradise, and I’m glad to be here enjoying it.
Hash Monday coming up next. Not sure what to expect, but it does involve a truck ride to Olongapo and that means we’ll be climbing the Kalaklan ridge at some point. On-Home is at Viking on Baloy, so it is going to be a long walk for sure. More about that tomorrow.
Looks as though you can shift into teacher/mentor mode with young Samantha. Help her out by giving her some real-world HR hypotheticals—how would you solve this or that personnel problem, and why? She can learn the principles of good HR management that way. Good luck as you put on your sensei hat.
Good on you 👏 👍 you’re still the generous man 👨 👏
Though you stooped low enough to order pizza with pineapples 🍍
My question to you today is
What is this Phil Health you speak of and how will it he helpful 🤔 for the young mother for the next 3 months 🤔 are the kids missing their vaccinations and need a check-up ?
I take it that you actually have the Phil Health card so you get discounts at hospitals 🏥 😏
The new Samantha looks good
It may work out well since you have no romantic interest….but then again, maybe if u did have some inclination that would help in keeping her away from a local handsome pinoy boyfriend 😉 Worst thing if u start the process and she winds up dropping out cos of pregnancy….sadly it happens far too often …thanks to the Catholic teachings.
Thanks again for the writing ✍
Kev, we’ll see what happens, but I’m glad to help with advice and tuition if she wants to do the work required to become an HR professional.
Sensei you say? Hmm. Well, I did tell her this story shortly after we met:
I was in the process of filling a vacancy on my staff–my personal secretary. I had three equally qualified candidates. So, I called them each in for an interview and asked them one question: If I gave you $10,000 what would you do with the money?
The first candidate responded, “I’d use the money to feed the hungry children in Africa.”
The second answered, “I’d go on a shopping spree and buy all the things I’ve dreamed of.”
The third interviewee said, “I would invest the money and double it in ten years.”
Which one do you think I hired? (Samantha said the third one).
Nope. I hired the one with the big tits!
(that’s my favorite HR joke).
Hmm, come to think of it, maybe she’s better off without my help…
James, PhilHealth is the government healthcare insurance program. It’s relatively inexpensive and would provide enough coverage to be treated in a public hospital or local clinic. Foreigners can purchase it as well at a higher rate. From what I know about it, PhilHealth is better than nothing, but not much better. I expect Joy wants it so she can take her kids in for checkups or treat common illnesses. I don’t use PhilHealth–I kept my Blue Cross plan when I retired.
Yeah, I’m going to want to know Samantha a bit better before I make a commitment. And you are right, she needs to take responsibility and make a commitment to education as her priority. There was a friend’s daughter I was looking to help after she graduated high school. She wound up pregnant at 17 and the cycle of poverty in that family continues. A sad reality here. Why these gals don’t do birth control is beyond me–maybe for financial or religious reasons, but damn…
“I hired the one with the big tits!” – Wise decision, you can teach the secretarial part.