Today is my birthday, but we’ll talk about that tomorrow. Assuming I live that long. Still dealing with wet weather, but it is less intense now and more typical of what you expect during rainy season. So there’s that. The Wednesday Walkers convened and set about undertaking a 6K street walk. Here is some of what we saw along the way:
We kicked off the birthday-eve celebration at Harley’s on Baloy. They had my new favorite San Mig Extra Light in stock, so I was off to a good start. Next up was Mango’s for our traditional grilled pork chop dinner. They hadn’t heard about Extra, but now they have. Hopefully it will be in the fridge on our next visit.
I messaged the Jumpin’ Jacks manager to ask about the rumors of the bar’s demise. She responded that a new management team was taking over, but she had not been informed whether she and the current staff would be retained. I asked if they were going to be open tonight, and she said that they were. So, I said we’d come by later.
We popped into the seldom-visited Annex Bar on our way to Jumpin’ Jacks. Hasher Fast And Loose is the bartender there. And by golly, they had some cold Extra waiting to be enjoyed. Looks like I’m gonna have plenty of venue options for drinking extra lightly.
On to Jumpin’ Jacks for our nightcap. And yes, my manager friend had secured the San Mig Extra I had requested on Sunday. Woo-hoo! So, we had our usual good time soaking up the ambiance and enjoying the always nice music. Hopefully, not for the last time. The former manager at Thumbstar is going to be taking over, and Jumpin’ Jacks will be renamed Red Square. The perfectly fine current interior will be remodeled to accommodate a stage for dancers. Yeah, just what we need in Barretto. Anyway, I passed on my advice that they keep the current music playlists and let the dancers move to that. I fear the current good vibe is doomed, but if the bar isn’t currently making money, I understand the effort to draw more customers. Good luck with that.
And that was the way I spent the last day of my 70th year.
Maybe I’ll still be alive in 2028 to witness this:
And here’s a memory from my racist past:
Moving on to August 2021 in the LTG archives, where I share a post about what passes as a bad day in the Philippines. Yeah, I bitch and moan about minor medical-related frustrations, but compared to what the locals deal with every day, I’ve got nothing to complain about. Oh, and my “friend with benefits” Joy crossed a line, and I terminated the relationship. Looking back, perhaps I was overly harsh, but then again, at least I’d learned to apply Rule #1 (don’t be a sucker).
Today’s YouTube video offers a brief history of Luzon Island. And by brief, I mean less than four minutes. That suits my ever-decreasing attention span.
These never get old:
Last year I had the biggest birthday bash of my life, thanks to Swan. This year is going to be a lot more laid-back. So laid-back, I’m not sure what I’ll do to celebrate as yet. I’ve got a pretty good hunch beer will be involved, though. Hopefully Extra!
“Age has no reality except in the physical world. The essence of a human being is resistant to the passage of time. Our inner lives are eternal, which is to say that our spirits remain as youthful and vigorous as when we were in full bloom. Think of love as a state of grace, not the means to anything, but the alpha and omega. An end in itself.”
― Gabriel García Márquez, Love in the Time of Cholera
I always love seeing those other 70s I lived through.