The way it were

Or should I say “was”? I can’t, because I’ve already used that as a post title, and I don’t want to repeat myself. Regardless, this post is just a quick recap of what went down around here yesterday. I’ll make it as quick and painless as possible, I promise.

Regular readers know my Sundays begin with Swan’s weekly Candy Walk.

Finding a new angle on an old target is always challenging, but here you go, Easter Mountain.
Taking care of the sweet tooth of both young and old.
What the duck?

So, I’ve been doing a video of different streets we visit during the Candy Walk. Here’s this week’s episode:

Come and get it!
Life at the foot of the mountain
Another week’s work is done
The same 5K we always do

So, there’s a ship in port this weekend. A big one. The French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle.

And the sailors had weekend liberty in Barretto
Youngish men packing the bars is not the norm these days

I asked Joy at Hideaway if any Frenchies had shown up there this weekend, but apparently, the bar is too hidden away. Also, it closes at 7:00, which isn’t much of a nightlife. During my feeding visit yesterday, two Korean gents were at the bar. I taught one of the girls how to say “handsome man” to them (pajee boseyo). The guys took the compliment well and bought her a lady drink. Oh, the literal translation is, “Take off your pants.”

Miel (the one I taught to speak a little Korean) and bartender Ace ready to dive into dinner.
Joyful Joy

And then, it was time for me to hit the beach.

Another busy day on the beach
And there was a group of young white guys renting jet skis; you don’t see that every day.
The floating bar was packed with French sailors

What was really strange was seeing several white women among them. You almost never see a Western woman in Barretto. I assume they were also part of the carrier crew.

No, thank you…
…I’ll stick with my Filipina
Busy with beachgoers and boats
I’ve never seen this happen before. A Banka boat crossed over the lines used to pull the transport raft to the floating bar. I was worried the lines would be cut and we’d be trapped. Luckily, the boat eventually moved out of the way, and the lines were intact.
What we came to see
Going…
…going…
…gone! The sunsets are usually better on the Arizona floater than the Kokomo’s because the position on the bay gives a better line of sight.
Swan created this as a Facebook post

UPDATE: I just spoke with my Hasher friend who works at Wet Spot, and she told me the French sailors don’t buy lady drinks, at least not like the American seamen who occasionally come to town. Cheap Charlies or smarter, you decide.

Next on our agenda was dinner at John’s place. Those newly hired waitresses from our previous visit are all gone now. Swan says it is because the pay is only 250 pesos for a twelve-hour shift. That’s insanely low. They’d do better to hire one good one at 500 pesos. Anyway, rather than go upstairs to the third floor we prefer, we stayed on the second floorto ensure prompt service.

Where we sat
The view wasn’t up to par
But the deliciousness of the bulgogi made up for it
It’s official, Swan is addicted to birria

We did a brief nightcap at Green Room, then called it a night. Swan revealed that she had a stash of ice cream in the freezer and made me a dish with fresh strawberries on top. It was so good I snuck a second scoop.

Close enough for (retired) government work

Another trip to those high school daze via Facebook memories:

My high school sweetheart, Karen
And a poem I wrote for her. Pardon the punctuation.

And then, from ten years ago, was a treat I only ever had in Korea:

Jee Yeun’s “egga burger”
Eight years ago, I was still on vacation in Barretto and was a judge at the SOB competition for the first time. What is so strange to see now is that of those nine bars, only three remain open (Alaska, Hot Zone, and Wet Spot). Hot Zone stopped competing in the SOB a couple of years ago.

For today’s YouTube video, the Filipina Pea interviews a lawyer and talks about laws that foreigners might violate through ignorance, which of course, is no excuse. Especially now that I’ve posted her video.

Things I found funny enough to post:

Yeah, it’s just like finding an interesting post here at LTG–better luck tomorrow!
Yeah, I named my bathroom “Jim” and I go there everyday
I remember seeing those guys on TV as a kid, and even then, I knew it was bullshit. My grandma was a true believer, though, and made us watch.

And now it is time for Hash Monday prep. I’ve been advised that a climb up Kalaklan Ridge is in my immediate future. I’ll share a survivor’s tale tomorrow. Hopefully.

1 thought on “The way it were

  1. Or should I say “was”? I can’t, because I’ve already used that as a post title, and I don’t want to repeat myself.

    Is this riffing off the song title “The Way We Were”? Why not just use a completely different post title?

    You normally don’t use the phrase “it were” unless you’re employing the subjunctive mood. As in:

    • If it were a matter of criminal justice, my office would be on the case immediately.
    • If it were possible to fly cheaply with jet packs, we’d already have them.

    The subjunctive mood is hard to see in English, but like in French, it’s used to indicate things like wishing, imagining/speculating, necessity, etc. Examples:

    It’s necessary that you be there by five.
    If I were king, I’d make you my jester.

    Taking care of the sweet tooth of both young and old.

    Subjugation of the populace via diabetes. Nice.

    re: “pajee boseyo”

    That’s “look at the pants.” B, not P: baji. The conjugated verb “take off” would be romanized as “beoseoyo.” The “eo” is somewhere between an “aw” and an “uh,” or as my boss says, it’s like the “eo” in “George.”

    “Enlève ton pantalon” is how to say “Take off your pants” in French. Hey, sailor.

    Also, it closes at 7:00, which isn’t much of a nightlife.

    Incredible. Is the bar deliberately trying not to make money?

    I’ve never seen this happen before. A Banka boat crossed over the lines used to pull the transport raft to the floating bar.

    I assume such an event is rare for a reason.

    It’s official[;] Swan is addicted to birria

    You really need to learn how to make that at home. Not hard if you have a slow cooker, a pan, and a blender.

    And a poem I wrote for her. Pardon the punctuation.

    Yeah, you can remove almost all of the commas. Here’s an exercise: find the commas that ought to remain in place. And throw out the silly rule that “commas mark a pause.” While sometimes true, that “rule” will get you in trouble, as it did in this poem.

    That said, it’s a nice poem. I hope Karen liked it. Assuming she knew about it.

    Jee Yeun’s “egga burger”

    I imagine that’s a wimpy version of a patty melt…?

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