My yesterday began in the wee dark hours of the morning when I woke with a painful tooth. I took some aspirin and went back to bed. The pain subsided enough for me to sleep until my regular 0430 wake-up time. I knew I’d have to get that tooth checked out by my dentist before it got worse. I’m a very low tolerance for pain kind of guy.
In the meantime, I went about my regular Tuesday routines.
Next up on my “to-do” list was the weekly shopping excursion to the Royal supermarket.
My sweet tooth has been causing me problems as well, and I decided to stymie my lack of willpower by refusing to purchase ice cream this week. But when I walked by the ice cream freezer, I was surprised to see a new brand in stock: Sunnyside Farms. Wow. That had been one of my favorites back in the USA. Then I noticed it was priced at “only” $6.00. The Bryers ice cream cartons displayed right next to it were selling for $9.50.
On the way home, I had my driver stop by my dentist’s office to see if I could do a walk-in appointment. The receptionist told me to have a seat, so I waved for my driver to go on without me. After about twenty minutes, Dr. Barrera finished with his scheduled client and had me come back to his office for a consult. I described my issue, and he had me sit in the dental chair for a look-see.
When I indicated which tooth was causing the pain, he said that that tooth had a crown. Hmm, well, I knew that all my crowns had been preceded by a root canal, so where was the pain coming from? He said, let’s do an x-ray and find out. The x-ray showed that a small portion of the nerve was still present, hence the pain. The swelling around the tooth was consistent with an infection which was likely responsible for the pain. He prescribed a week’s worth of antibiotics and told me to continue taking ibuprofen for the pain as needed. If this doesn’t work, he’ll go back in and do another root canal. Alrighty then.
Dr. Barrerra’s total charge for the appointment, including the x-ray, was 500 pesos (ten bucks). The pharmacy charged me 95 pesos per tablet of the antibiotic (3X a day=21 pills), so the meds were almost forty dollars. It seemed weird paying so much more for the medicine than I paid the dentist. But $50. all in is still a bargain. Here’s hoping the pills work.
My dentist is practically across the street from John’s place. I’d hit the ATM, so I had a pocketful of money and a hankering for some quality beef. It was still early, and John wasn’t in yet. One of the staff showed me some ribeyes that looked good, but she couldn’t tell me if they were US or Aussie beef. At 2300 pesos a kilo, I wasn’t settling for anything less than prime USDA meat. I’ll have to go back another time.
It was still raining hard, but I was able to catch a trike right in front of John’s to whisk me home. My helper prepared a dory fish and mixed vegetable lunch for me.
I ate, I blogged, and then I settled in to watch a couple more episodes of Manifest. I’m getting deep into season two, and I’m concerned the story may be going off the rails. I’ll watch some more to find out if my sense of direction is correct. But some things the writers have done are just plain stupid. For example, the main antagonist is a female character everyone calls “the Major.” I’ve been thinking that’s a pretty low rank for someone running a major operation on behalf of the military or government or whomever it is. I decided it was probably more of a nickname than a military rank. And then it was revealed that she had been (she’s never depicted in uniform) at one time a Major General in the Army. Hmm. No one calls a Major General “Major.” In fact, all flag officers are referred to as “General.” (Brigadier General (BG), Major General (MG), Lieutenant General (LTG), and a 4-star General (GEN). You mostly say “sir” or “ma’am” when speaking to them directly, but regardless of rank, you’d say General Jones in casual conversation or by the actual rank in more formal settings. But you would NEVER call a Major General “Major” unless you were trying to be insulting. A stupid mistake that is distracting to me. I’ll stay tuned for a while longer, so you don’t have to.
When it was time to head into town, I took my umbrella and the coupons I’d won at the SOB, including a 500 peso voucher at Whiskey Girl bar. On my way there, I saw “mama” sitting in front of the 7/11, so I crossed the highway to give her my standard 100 peso donation. Of course, the ladies at Snatchbar saw me, and I felt compelled to have a drink before continuing on my mission. I limited myself to one (and a lady drink each for the two waitresses at my table). I paid my tab and left despite the pleas for me to stay for “one more.”
I guess I could have, I arrived at Whiskey Girl shortly before 5:00, and they weren’t open yet. I had a coupon for Queen Victoria, so I crossed the highway again and had a free drink. It seems rude to accept the freebie without buying one also, so that’s what I did. When I returned to Whiskey Girl, they were STILL closed. Damn, I guess they don’t open until 6:00. Now what? Well, one thing for sure is I wasn’t going to stand out in the rain, so I headed up the road and popped into Mango’s.
Drank slowly and kept an eye on my watch, and when 6 p.m. arrived, I departed. I was relieved to see a couple of gals around the door at Whiskey Girl when I got there. Alas, they told me, “sorry sir, we are closed for cleaning.” Apparently, during the heavy rain, the water level on the street rose enough to allow seepage into the bar. And my plans for the evening were foiled.
I was near another bar I hadn’t visited in quite some time, Adam’s. I was the only customer, but one of the girls there knew me and greeted me by name. I had no recollection of who she might be. She said, “I’m Shantelle; you saw me at Bottoms Up.” Hmm. I hadn’t been to Bottoms Up since I did my review back in November of last year. Looking at the review now, I see that she was featured in the write-up. Shantelle also reminded me that we had first met when she was a waitress at Treasure Island on Baloy. “Oh yeah, I remember now,” I lied.
I, of course, bought her a lady drink. When I was done with mine, I headed back out. I was feeling a tad hungry, so my next stop was Cameltoe. I was just getting settled in when my pal Johnny arrived, so at least I had some male company for a change. (Don’t worry, I bought Lydell a drink and some food too).
I ate, I drank, I chatted, and then it was time to call it a night (8:30), so I headed home.
On the trike ride home, I remembered I had some special ice cream in the freezer. When I arrived, I gave the dogs a treat, then walked to the freezer and grabbed the carton of Butterfinger ice cream. Took a spoon from the drawer, sat down at my laptop, and wound up eating the whole damn carton. Again. I told you I had no willpower. I blame it on the rain.
Tuesday, afternoon I'm just beginning to see Now I'm on my way It doesn't matter to me Chasing the clouds away Something, calls to me The trees are drawing me near I've got to find out why Those gentle voices I hear Explain it all with a sigh I'm looking at myself, reflections of my mind It's just the kind of day to leave myself behind So gently swaying thru the fairy-land of love If you'll just come with me and see the beauty of Tuesday afternoon
Looking closer, I discovered they had my favorite, Butterfinger flavor!
I laughed and laughed when I read this because I know the internal struggle all too well, not to mention the rationalizations that go along with it: “I know I shouldn’t, but I haven’t seen this flavor around in a long time, so… just this once…” Yup.
Here in Korea, paying more for meds is commonplace. The consult with the doc never costs that much, but the meds are another matter (they’re still cheaper than meds in the States, though, by far). And if I get any testing done, like a blood test, that’s going to pump up the consultation fee.
By “dory fish,” do you mean the Blue Hippo Tang (a.k.a. Blue Tang)?
How did you manage to forget the lovely Shantelle?
Rascal, these days I’m lucky to remember my own name!
Yeah, the way I rationalize is irrational. Like I tell myself that if I eat a half gallon of ice cream each week, it doesn’t matter whether I do it in seven days or all in one–I consume the same number of calories. That may be technically correct, but it doesn’t account for the fact that on those other six days, I’m going to have to eat something for my evening treat. Last night I did sugar-free pudding, not a bad option, but still adds additional calories. Oh well, I’ll keep trying for better discipline.
I’m not much of a fish eater and don’t really know how to distinguish between the varieties (well, except for salmon). I wouldn’t have had that fried fish lunch if the helper hadn’t provided it. I’ll have to ask her again what it’s called.
I think you should make up for your faux pas by writing an in-depth article about Shantelle.
She may not look exotic but I’m sure her story will fascinate the readers as well.
Your friend Joy switched jobs and she seems much happier ☺️ Well, a big part is due to your switching up your happiness and continuing your patronage of wherever she works. We won’t mention your off-duty escapades.
Maybe Shantelle also has a funny story of how she moved from Treasure Island and then to Bottoms Up and then to Adam’s.
I gotta say, that Adam’s doesn’t seem like it’s quite the right fit for your town. Unless they show Australian sports all the time, and even so they still have competition from the much nicer Barcelona, Mangos and Thumbstar, I don’t see them having a dedicated clientele. Besides, those other establishments probably have an actual Australian person at the helm , so I don’t know which sports Adam’s is showing because Manny Pacquiao is a politician now. And the Lux bar downstairs? I hope they’re not flooded out….it’s literally built into the ground where the water will definitely flow in.
You know what kind of content I would pay to see ? Those funny animal videos 📹 🤣 If any bar had an unending funny video montage on the screen, I would stay in that bar and buy as many drinks as it took to see just one more cat 🐈 fall off the couch. The other screens could play the last live show from the rock legends Journey as long as they like, but I want my beer and funny animals.
I read your Bar Barretto bar review . I had thought you had covered all bars of Barretto, but it seems like there could be well over 50 active bars in the area. That’s more than I expected .
Although my favorite review remains the open roof Barcelona, I would swap that openness and views and transpose the prices of Cheap Charlie’s onto that much better roof. Cheap Charlie’s is just way too close to the road, too close to the edge. Do people enjoy the views of the mountains, instead of the wide open bay ?
Since it’s the rainy season, you’re bound to get stuck indoors at some bar 🍸 That will be your cue to conduct your in-depth interview with a beautiful lady.
This will be your new section called ” Girl of the week”. It’s not as raunchy as the old Tabloid Page 3 girls, but for your small-town newspaper circulation numbers it’ll have to do. Remember that there are church ladies who religiously read this content.
To satisfy the whims of the church ladies , you could have one numbile scantily-clad youthful and exuberant single mom one week , and then an older mature weathered 45 year old single mom the next. That should balance things out.
Of course you shouldn’t take any of this seriously . You already naturally have the gift of conversing with people such that they tell you a bit about themselves, as you share drinks and laughs. And your jokes have been rumored to lead to uproarious laughter, although your readers can’t attest to that as those are seldom shared on this forum.
There you have it…
The only thing missing is the Classifieds section. I mean, it won’t hurt 🤷 to include some hotel promos or other services provided that a reader might stumble across and find useful.
YES, I do realize that collating all this information will cut deeply into your drinking time….but an occasional special edition will get things exciting, and once it’s done people will refer to it even afterwards.
Think about it.
Shantelle is the first girl of the week /month
And then Gum Leaves is the special rainy deal of the month.
Also, how’s the tooth ?
Thanks for the suggestions, Teddy. I’ll take them under advisement. 🙂
The only thing I know about Shantelle beyond the little I disclosed is that she was honest about being in a relationship. She even offered to let another girl drink with me instead, but of course, I declined. I’m trying hard not to look for love in all the wrong places.
I only very rarely visit Adam’s; it just doesn’t click with me somehow. Nothing wrong with the place (other than being an indoor bar). I have no idea what sports they might show on TV (if any); it’s just not the go-to place for that (most sports enthusiasts go to Harely’s or Green Room to watch).
BarCelona does have a great rooftop area, but I’ve just had several bad service experiences there that now I rarely bother climbing those stairs. I much prefer Cheap Charlies and do enjoy the mountain view (and remembering the times I’ve climbed them). Being on the third floor, the highway noise is somewhat reduced, but you can still watch the world going by below you.
Bar Barretto only recently opened, and there are a couple of other new places I haven’t reviewed yet. I’m going to get to them soon. I also plan to update the old reviews based on subsequent visits I’ve made to the bars. I’ll update the rankings as well. I think we have 30 bars in town, not counting Baloy beach area. You mention Gum Leaves, that’s been closed for a couple of years now. It looked like some work was being done, and it might reopen, but now it has a for-sale sign out front.
The tooth is killing me. That’s why I’m up at 0300 responding to your comment. I have a very low tolerance for pain.
Her offering to let another girl drink with you is quite funny 😁 😂 I had always assumed that most of the girls are in relationship; with a stay-at-home boyfriend; and that is the reason they’re working 💪 Him being at home therefore is not an impediment to her doing her job, and if she doesn’t return home before breakfast the next morning, he’ll understand that something at the office came up , a project that she had to finish off. And even if he doesn’t understand, he’ll have an epiphany when he sees the bundle of cash she brings home.
In this way, the feminist movement is alive and well in your small town , the women work and drink all night ,while the men stay home and look after the kids. Or maybe I don’t understand what feminism is.
Sorry to hear about your tooth. I bet this is around the time you wish you had a wife to console you, or a medically trained girlfriend to help you ease your pain.
Either way, I’m sure this won’t stop you from enjoying your day as usual. The medication should help.
Bars out Baloy way just seem oddly spaced. I’m sure they have to fight for real estate with hotels and guesthouses. And jostling for a good spot on the beach ⛱️ means that they’re located very far from the foot traffic, so the clientele has to work hard to find them. They’re not that different from your beloved Hideaway, except maybe they don’t have a toothy girl to entertain you.
Do enjoy the rest of the day, and try to squeeze in a nap some time during the day before you start your evening activities .
This small-town newspaper is really churning out some good stuff lately. If you’re not careful, Dave the businessman may even attempt a takeover of sorts in the future 🙂 😀 😃
Wait til he reads this….hopefully he skims past the Barcelona thing
Yeah, I’m pretty sure a pretty high percentage of the bargirls have a local Filipino boyfriend. Some even admit it. I also regularly see a girl getting dropped off for work at the bar kiss the trike driver goodbye. Yesterday I saw one of the Cheap Charlies girls walking hand and hand down the street with a young Filipino. That’s one reason the bars aren’t a good hunting ground for finding true love.
Dave occasionally reads my blog, but he won’t care what is said about BarCelona–it’s not one of his. He’s down to two bars now, Wet Spot and Green Room. He’s still the man about town, though.
The tooth is feeling better this afternoon. My helper is also a certified caregiver and makes sure I take all my meds. And Joy came by the house yesterday to offer me some comfort. I’m a lucky man!
There aren’t really any freestanding bars on Baloy; the bars are all part of the hotels. Some of them are pretty good, though, with pool and dart leagues and sports on TV. The only bars I can think of are two small places on the beach, Laharnz and McCoy’s. I used to enjoy an occasional visit to McCoy’s but all they serve is beer–no gin.