Weekend wrap-up

Goodbye to you, Pozorrubio. Perhaps we will meet again next year.
Well I woke up Sunday mornin', with no way to hold my head that didn't hurt
And the beer I had for breakfast wasn't bad, so I had one more, for dessert
Then I fumbled through my closet, for my clothes and found my cleanest dirty shirt
And I shaved my face and combed my hair and, stumbled down the stairs to meet the day

I’m no Kris Kristofferson, so after my forgotten Saturday night, my head didn’t hurt, and I didn’t have a beer for breakfast. Maybe I should have.

Remnants from my drunken shopping at 7-Eleven the night before sufficed for my Sunday morning breakfast. Actually, the Snickers bar is “only” 279 calories, and it satisfied my hunger until we were back home for a proper lunch.

We rode home with Tiny Cunt (Keith) and his girl for a comfortable two-and-a-half-hour trip. Along the way, we passed the cleanest city in the Philippines.

Sorry for the blurry photo; it was taken at high speed on the expressway. I’ve heard lots of talk about Concepcion being “immaculate.” (Yes, I went through all that effort just to make this lame joke, but that’s the way I roll.)

Anyway, we arrived home a little after eleven. Swan prepared a nice ribeye steak and broccoli lunch, and then I got to work on yesterday’s massive post. When I finished that, it was time to prepare myself for my Sunday evening endeavors.

Dinner for the five Hideaway gals delivered from Jewel Cafe lightened my wallet by 1500 pesos.

Hideaway had a decent crowd, so that was good to see. The girls enjoyed their food and thanked me profusely. I had two gin and sodas, then headed across the highway to John’s Place for dinner with my sweetheart.

That would be her.
The view from John’s when I arrived.
And a bit later after sundown.
I continued my calorie splurge by satisfying my craving for birria tacos. Three to a serving, but I gave one of them to Swan, thereby limiting the damage to 400 calories. Oh, and I washed it down with a gin and soda.

With dinner over and done with, we moseyed up the highway to The Green Room to enjoy our nightcap. Swan brought some of John’s delicious chicken wings to share with our favorites there. Three more gin and sodas, and we called it a night. I satiated my sweet tooth with some canned cranberries, then hit the hay.

That’s three days in a row I exceeded my calorie goal. I’ll try to do better this week.
And eat less!

Here are a few other photos from my weekend on the farm:

The hotel we stayed in this year. Last year at The Mansion was more to my liking.
Is it RDT or J’adore Grand? If they don’t know, I sure as hell don’t, although the trike drivers call it RDT.
A view from my third-floor room. The room wasn’t much better, and the wifi sucked.
That’s our room with the towels in the window. I told Swan the housekeeper would bring fresh towels, and Swan said, “What if no one comes to clean?” Turns out, she was right.
Heading out to start our Saturday with Haggis Bash Hash. If you read yesterday’s post, you already know how it ended for me.
Our Hash host and farm owner, Honeydew.
Christmas decorations down on the farm. Well, I brought the lady with me.
That’s my fat gut at the Friday circle
And my drunk ass at Saturday night’s after-Hash gathering of the Subic Bay contingent.

So, been there, done that, got the t-shirt:

And life goes on until it doesn’t.

Speaking of which, this was my life twelve years ago:

A cigarette in my hand and a wife at my side. Everything changes, not always for the better.

It was good to see that our soon-to-be former President is being appropriately honored by the USPS:

Today’s YouTube video once again raises the question of why some folks are quitting the Philippines. I don’t know anyone bailing for other than medical issues, but maybe my circle knew the things the vlogger identifies and came anyway. I know nothing here took me by surprise. Sure, there are frustrations, but that would be true wherever I lived.

And now the jokes are on me:

Sounds more like “All In The Family” than “Star Trek”
Talk about an asswhuppin’
And now we’ve covered both sides of the spectrum

Hash Monday has arrived once again. Leech My Nuggets is the Hare, and the On-Home will take place at his house here in Alta Vista. Leech is one of the best when it comes to a well-marked trail, which I always appreciate. He also provided my fellow short cutter, Pubic Head, with a map in advance so we could plot our deviations. And so we have done. I’ll let you know how that works out for us tomorrow.

I came across today’s music video in my Facebook memories. Arizona was the best place I’ve ever lived (at least in the USA), and this song has always had a special place in my heart. It’s from the opening credits of the movie Junior Bonner and was filmed in Prescott, the town where I used to live. The songwriter and performer, Rod Hart, played in a bar band in Prescott and I had the pleasure of seeing him perform live on several occasions. Give it a listen:

Morning, Arizona morning
Almost sets me free
Makes me glad to be alive
Wondering, why I started wandering
Should have stayed right here
Underneath the clear blue skies

Sadness, changing now to gladness
With the rustle of the breeze
Through the pinon trees where I lay
In the morning, Arizona morning
A place where I can smile
And see a hundred miles away

The birds are flying high above the morning
Singing to the colors of the dawn
And in my mind, I hear a gentle warning
You've been a rounder and a rambler much too long
And a rover, wishing it was over
All my battles won, resting in the sun this way

In the morning, Arizona morning
Coming home today, wishing I could stay
Wishing I could stay

Here’s the movie (slightly shorter) version that I had posted on Facebook all those years ago:

And I also came across this short video talking about some of the backstage shenanigans that resulted in a bar band performer doing the opening song in a Sam Peckinpah film:

2 thoughts on “Weekend wrap-up

  1. I think one reason a lot of expats leave a SE Asian country is that they expect that being in a foreign country will somehow change them. If they were a loser back home, some expats think that somehow moving to a foreign country will change that. Usually doesn’t work that way. Another reason is that people who have never been to a foreign country before or scoped out where they are going to set up their new life move to this new place and then are surprised with _____________ (fill in the bland; pollution, poverty, English skills of the locals etc.).

    Granted, it is a lot easier now than it was 25 years ago or longer. A lot more info is available and accessible.

    You had done your homework and had lived overseas, so already were one step ahead of the game.

  2. Totally agree with your assessment, Brian. And if someone doesn’t like living here, regardless of the reason, they should by all means pack their bags and go. Despite my prep work and due diligence, I had a Plan B in mind if things didn’t work out here for me–Cambodia. Yes, there are some frustrations associated with living in the PI, but I’m sure I would experience issues wherever I live. There is no such thing as perfect.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *