Yesterday morning I made the trip out to Baypointe hospital in order to get the required COVID swab test done prior to my cataract surgery scheduled for tomorrow. You’d think this should be easy enough to accomplish, but then again, I am in the Philippines.
Outside the main entrance to the hospital is a check-in table. You tell them the purpose of your visit, they ask some questions about any symptoms you’ve experienced, then they take your temperature, and you get a pass to go inside. That’s how it’s gone on all my previous visits. Except the COVID testing is done in a tent at the end of the driveway. You still have to go inside to pay prior to the test though. Except if you are being tested for COVID you are not allowed to enter the hospital. A classic Catch-22 situation. Well, I had my helper along so she went inside to pay using my credit card. That’s a little scary too. At the grocery store, they check my ID to make sure the card is mine. Anyway, it took a while because there was a long line at the cashier, but after about twenty minutes she came back with the receipt I required.
I traipsed over to the tent and was tested immediately. The actual procedure was not as invasive as I feared. I mean, it is never fun to have something poked up your nose and down the back of your throat (two different swabs, just to be clear), but it didn’t hurt at all and didn’t take long to complete. And when I woke up this morning the results were in my email inbox.
Turns out the lab is positive that I am negative for COVID. No real surprise there. That means tomorrow morning I’ll be heading back over to Baypointe and getting my eye fixed. Hopefully. We’ll see if I can see clearly again.
Last night, I changed things up a bit and started my beer intake at Blue Butterfly. It’s an okay bar and the bargirl who latched onto me upon arrival was nice enough. At least she seemed to really like my jokes. Then again, I was buying her lady drinks, so that may have impacted sincerity in that regard. Thirty-nine years old and no kids, which is almost unheard of in this country. I seriously asked her if she were a lesbian and she said no. She didn’t trip my triggers much but we are Facebook friends now.
While I was at Blue Butterfly, Marick sent me a message to come visit her bar and meet the new waitress she just hired. Turns out Marick’s eyes are much better than mine. Her place is diagonally across the highway from BB, but she saw me sitting in the outside seating area. So, I stopped in for a couple.
The new girl is named Joy (yikes, another one!), 23 years old with two young kids. Claims to have never worked in a bar before. So naturally, I bought the first lady drink of her career.
This morning I had a very pleasant chat with Paula. Except it turns out her name is not Paula. It’s actually Paul Pearl, and she goes by Pearl. She says her mom just calls her Pau. She wasn’t able to join the hike today but is looking forward to future adventures–wants to climb the mountains. She seems smart and witty. Also doesn’t appear to be needy at all. No idea why a woman like this would like a man like me. Not saying she does, but based on our conversation this morning, there might be some kind of connection to build on. Time will tell I suppose.
As far as the hike goes, it was raining again this morning so we opted to just stay on the back streets of Barretto. The rain stopped before our meetup, and we managed to get in a 6.5K hike before it started again.
You can Relive the journey here if you want:
That’s about it from here for now. Hopefully, I’ll be back with more tomorrow. If not, it’s been nice knowing you!
Good luck with the surgery. May you see so well that you can look right through women’s clothing (God help you if you’re also able to look through men’s clothing).
I notice the PCR test-results form has your civil status as “married,” which is technically correct. You’ve plowed your way through a lot of women since you moved to the PI, so I’d say you’re lucky you haven’t been picked up for adultery which, as you point out, is illegal where you are. I know your argument about being “divorced in your heart,” but you and I both know that that means nothing in a court of law (assuming they take the law seriously in the PI; I get the impression that respect for the law is a case-by-case thing, and the foreigner always loses). Just get the divorce over with, man. Are the benefits of remaining married really worth it? You’ll be safer once divorced, and there’ll be no more Sword of Damocles hanging over your head every time you see another pretty Pinay ass. I worry for you.
That aside, good luck with the surgery. Post any gross pictures.
Nice pictures.
And all your readers are eagerly awaiting the next installment of your search for love saga. Will it be Joy or Pearl 🤔
Or maybe another as yet undiscovered paradise. Of course, Marick with the good eyesight is not too far away 🙄
Good of you that you still hike no matter how bad the weather gets. I must have missed a few updates 🤔
Who is the chunky fella? He seems new. I know Troy the goatee and all the other hashers with ‘too- rude -to -print -names .
The new guy’s an inspiration. That he can keep up with your hardy group of hashers under such weather. He’s almost as tall as he is wide.
That’s a lot of strength 💪
You’ve been looking for ideas on what to write about.
Other than bars and restaurants; I have always maintained that writing about the characters that make up your amazing town would be perfect .
A disclaimer
All names, locations and events have been changed to protect the innocent. Only the days , locations and nicknames are real.
Reader discretion advised .
But most importantly; your foray into business as an investor is going well.
At the 1 month’s point; you could write a how-to guide on how to live the philanthropic retired life on a seaside town
Thanks for your writing ✍
Kev, I can talk them out of their clothes, I need to gain the ability to see through their deceptions! I don’t think even Superman had that power.
Actually, the adultery law is not a crime in the sense that theft or drugs would be. The authorities won’t investigate or charge you with adultery unless the wronged spouse formally complains. So in my situation, Jee Yeun would have to press charges, and since she is not Filipino and doesn’t live here she has no standing. As long as I leave the married Filipinas alone, I’m not in jeopardy.
There’s the rub, though. Sometimes you don’t know the woman you’ve hooked up with is married. And since divorce is not permitted, a lot of women who appear single are still technically married. Remember Loraine (the heartbreaker)? Her husband abandoned her and his kids many years ago and is living and working in the Middle East where he has remarried and started a new family. But it was still technically adultery for Loraine to sleep with me. Of course, I wasn’t worried about him filing a complaint since he was guilty as well.
Sometimes foreigners get in trouble here this way: meet the gal, start a romance, then all of the sudden the long-gone husband appears from out of the blue and threatens to bring action unless you pay him a sum of money. Yeah, it’s a scam and sometimes the wife is in on it. You do have to be careful. I always ask the gals I meet about the father of their kids. Most of the time they claim to have not been married. I’m not sure if being lied to in that regard would be a defense or not. My big head won’t allow me to blatantly pursue a married woman knowingly, although my little head has been tempted occasionally.
James, I am truly impressed! Your attention to detail is amazing. Yes, the big guy is a new arrival in town. His name is Martin and he seems like a really nice guy. A fellow Californian, not that I take much pride in that heritage these days. And yes, I’m not sure what his fitness goals are, but he carries that bulk well. Looking forward to getting to know him better, he even came out for darts the other night.
As to the love life, damned if I know what’s going to happen next. Joy is a no-go because of her young kids (3 and 1). Pearl is intriguing, but also scary. Could be she is out of my league. I’ve wanted to get with Marick for years, and only recently has she seemed receptive. And then she makes a point of introducing me to Joy. It’s all so confusing. Stay tuned for the next episode!
I’ll consider your idea for a series on the characters of Barretto. Got to say though that this is such a small town I’m not sure I could disguise the true identities sufficiently. I’m honestly already a little nervous about some of what I post here. I don’t tell many locals about the blog (back in the day, I’d post links to LTG on Facebook. No more!). Still, I’ve had at least two people in Barretto that I don’t know come up and say they found my blog through some Google search. I need to be careful!
Thanks for reading, James. And I appreciate your paying attention to the details of this life of mine in paradise.
John, I second the well wishes on successful cataract surgery. Though it is a (relatively) simple procedure and has been done for 1000’s of years. Didn’t Aristotle (or one of the other early Greek philosopher/doctors actually do cataract surgery??? I am sure the first few days when you can see clearly will be quite a revelation – almost like night and day!!! 😛
Also curious about Kevin’s other question. What is the benefit to remaining married? Is there something like a pension benefit that would disappear if you were single as opposed to married? (Sorry – dont mean to be nosy. Tell me to F off if I am prying LOL).
Thanks, Brian. I’m hoping the surgery is a success.
As to the divorce, I get a decent tax advantage by filing a joint return. I’m also able to carry the wife on my health insurance. Mostly though it is just a pain in the ass to get divorced that I don’t want to deal with right now. Actually, wouldn’t know how to go about it from here. She’s the one who wanted the divorce, she can file for it is my attitude.
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