Under the Sunday | Long Time Gone

I briefly visited Scott in the ICU ward at Ulticare Hospital yesterday. Visiting hours are from 4 to 6 p.m., and only one person is allowed in at a time. Scott’s girlfriend and another pal were there waiting, so I didn’t do more than a quick check-in. The good news is that he looked a lot better than I expected. The stroke-like symptoms he had experienced in the early morning hours (paralysis on one side, inability to speak) had disappeared for the most part, and it doesn’t appear there was any lasting damage. I messaged him this morning, and he will undergo an ultrasound today and hopefully be released. Scary how quickly everything can change, and a reminder that at our age, time is the most precious gift of all.

The Sunday Candy Walk went as it usually does. Here’s a video clip of Section Six of our weekly route:

***I’m going to conquer you again, just be patient!***

So, I advanced the Hideaway feeding by an hour so I could be at the hospital when visiting hours commenced. I had to leave before the food arrived, but Joy sent a photo thank you.

Sunday traffic is insane on the highway. Zambales province, with its multitude of beaches, brings the big city folks out for the weekend.

***The highway had a parking lot vibe as I made my way to the floating bar.***

When I arrived, there were two white guys on board, and one of them was buying rounds of tequila shots for the girls. I saw when he paid that he’d spent 5000 pesos during his visit. Good for him and good for the girls! And good for me since I wasn’t the one paying.

***With the big spenders gone, the girls had nothing left to do except fight boredom.***

***Still busy on the beach as we made our way to John’s place.***

We decided we’d share our meals:

***Half a roast beef and cheese sandwich has half the calories, right? (I passed on the fries.)***

***And regular readers know what Swan was craving.***

As usual, it all tasted good. Swan wanted to go to Cloud 69 for our nightcap, but we discovered upon arrival that the bar is closed on Sundays. So, we retreated to our other old favorite, Green Room, and had the usual good time hanging out.

How about one of those memes?

It’s July 2007 in my journey through the LTG archives. The post I found worthy of inclusion in The Story of My Life was one of those “catch-up” entries, but what was interesting to me was that I talked about the Philippines for the first time. I’d still never been, but I’d been researching and was pleasantly surprised to discover how well I could live there on a government pension. See, it wasn’t the women that brought me here! I’d even tentatively picked January 2, 2011, as the date I’d check out of the rat race. Things change, of course, but I did retire (temporarily) on that day, but moved to South Carolina with the Korean woman destined to become my wife. The Philippines would have to wait another seven years to capture my soul.

On this day in my Facebook history: