Ko. And now you know. More on that soon, but let’s get to the last, first, shall we?
The cataract surgery took more than an excruciating hour to complete. Not painful, just staring into a bright light, moving my eye when commanded to do so, and holding steady as directed. The doctor assures me all went well and that my now cataract-free left eye vision will be improved when the swelling recedes. We shall see. Hopefully.
The procedure cost 68,000 pesos ($1200). I intended to pay by credit card as I had done after the right eye surgery a couple of years ago. Since my doctor doesn’t have a card machine, the assistant took me downstairs to the hospital cashier. There, I was told there would be an additional 1200 pesos in service fees and another 10,000 pesos “tax.” I called bullshit on that (politely) and told the assistant I would pay in cash when I came for the follow-up appointment tomorrow. Nope, they wanted at least a 20,000 peso down payment. Swan had her debit card and went downstairs to the ATM, but it was out of service. Finally, Swan was able to transfer the 20,000 electronically into the doctor’s account, and we were free to go on with our lives.
Okay, and now for yesterday. The story behind the title of this post is that our Wednesday Walk was the Philseco Road route (Phil say ko, get it? Yeah, I’m a hoot.)
As I mentioned, for some unknown reason, my blog went down for a few hours when I was halfway through yesterday’s post. That was disconcerting because I thought maybe I’d been hacked or something. But when beer o’clock arrived, I gave up waiting and headed for town.
For our Wednesday evening out, we kicked things off at Alley Cats.
We pop in once a month or so to say hello to the old crew. Swan knows a couple folks and enjoys the atmosphere (it was her idea to visit last night). So, when Swan ordered her wine, she was told it was out of stock. But unlike Cheap Charlies, they ordered a bottle to be delivered while Swan waited with a mixed drink. That’s how you take care of customers the right way, rather than calling them stupid.
I had originally planned to carry on the Wednesday tradition of popping into seldom-visited bars, and Hangout was on my radar. But I was hungry after Alley Cats, so we went to Sit-n-Bull instead. Then we did our nightcap at Green Room and headed home afterward.
I managed to complete an abbreviated post in my semi-impaired state (blogging and drinking don’t go well together, IMHO). Then it was off to bed so I’d be in a good frame of mind for today’s surgical adventure.
Wednesday’s report card: 18,674 steps, 14.36 kilometers walked, 3,491 calories burned.
Who remembers that movie Dumb and Dumber? It looks like there may be a sequel on the horizon:
From the May 2009 LTG archives is a post about some off-duty time I spent with my friend Duke while I was in the DC area on a business trip. Duke is another one of the people I considered a close friend and stayed in touch with over the years, until he just disappeared. No social media presence, no response to emails, nothing. In this case, it is not just me. None of his other friends have seen or heard from him either. Everyone is asking, what happened to Duke? I hope he is okay.
Memories from this day in the history of my Facebook posts:
Today’s YouTube video is the one I didn’t post yesterday. If you are looking to find a Filipina wife, you might enjoy Irish’s advice on the three options that await you. I’m not in the market for a wife. Been there, done that, have that.
And then I have a Zen moment to share:
Plan To Be Spontaneous Tomorrow.
Let the humor roll:
A husband and wife had four boys. The odd part of it was that the older three had red hair, light skin, and were tall, while the youngest son had black hair, dark eyes, and was short.
The father eventually took ill and was lying on his deathbed when he turned to his wife and said, “Honey, before I die, be totally honest with me – is our youngest son my child?”
The wife replied, “I swear on everything that’s holy that he is your son.”
With that the husband passed away. The wife then muttered, “Thank God he didn’t ask about the other three.”
Our secret is safe!
Anyway, that pretty much catches you up on my so-called life. Hope you come back for more tomorrow!
I’m glad the surgery went well. I hope this clears up your vision, at least until the next cataract (info on cataract recurrence: they don’t recur, but cloudiness can return for other reasons).
Ready to learn some more Tagalog? “It is forbidden to throw garbage here!” Now you know.
Ah, the sign rebels (the plural noun, not the third-person-singular verb). Like seeing piles of cigarettes under “no smoking” signs. Are they really rebels, those people, or are they just cowards who wouldn’t dare litter in front of authorities?
It’s a good thing that sign was there. Imagine how it would look without it.
An interesting psych experiment would be to have two equivalent plots of empty land with equivalent foot traffic passing by them, one plot with a “no trash” sign, the other without. Which would have more trash by weight after two weeks?
A nice, albeit rainy, hike yesterday. Better wine service, though, which must have been a comfort. So: having wine or being out of stock—which represents the “Filipino way” that must be calmly accepted?
Happy healing from your surgery. I trust you’ll be all clear well before your birthday.
Glad things went well with the cataract surgery. Maybe I misread, but I thought you indicated that you were going to be put completely under for the surgery.
Which made me think back to when @Kevin had his episode and commented about making sure affairs are in order if something happens. Probably none of my business (actually, I am sure it isn’t, but will comment anyway. LOL), but are yours? If something happened to you, where does that leave Swan? Rent paid far enough in advance so that she has some cushion before she would have to leave? etc.
TMI, but I have colonoscopy tomorrow (queue the Billy Connelly monologue on that procedure. LOL) and I will definitely be completely out of it while they are performing the procedure. :eek I guess if I am going to be taking something up the ass for the first time, better to be completely oblivious to it!!!
Relates to the above in that while the odds are greatly in favor of nothing happening, I did do some pre-work just in case.
Brian, I expected general anesthesia for some reason, but only got a local. I guess I was thinking of the nasal surgery I had.
I have a will with my daughter as executor. The rent is paid here through September, and I expect to renew for another year and pay in advance. Swan is buying a lot and I’m putting money in the savings pot so she can build on it after I’m gone (I don’t want to live there, too far from the bars). So, that’s the extent of my preparations for the inevitable. My goal is to delay that end-of-life thing for another 15 years.
Good luck with the colonoscopy. It’s a pain in the ass (sorry, couldn’t resist) but worthwhile. They found some nodules (non-cancerous) on my first one, so I had to do an annual repeat for a while. It’s been a few years since my last one. I was knocked out for that procedure which is a good thing.
After all that time in Thailand you still have a virgin ass? Congrats!
Kev, thanks for the link on cataracts. Hopefully, these lenses in both eyes now will last the rest of my life.
I’m serious when I say littering is the cultural norm here. I see people from all walks of life drop litter without a thought or shame. So, I wouldn’t call it defiance, but everywhere I’ve seen one of those “don’t dump trash here” signs, there has been a pile of garbage around it.
Regarding the wine situation, it is not a problem in most bars. And the ones where it is frequently out-of-stock probably don’t sell much to begin with. Still, making an effort to get a bottle from a nearby store or have one delivered is the hallmark of customer service. Most places can’t be bothered with more than a “sorry,” and those are the places I tend not to patronize in the future.
I have a follow-up appointment today. My left eye is still blurry, but hopefully, it will clear up soon.