As Tuesdays go, yesterday was a pretty good one. It started out in the usual way with my grocery shopping expedition to the Royal Duty-Free supermarket. My usual low expectations were certainly met with the typical “out of stock” disappointments. This is the Philippines, after all, and so sometimes you just have to laugh.

The day’s big event was meeting up with the landlord to sign a lease for my future residence. I’ll be staying in Alta Vista, the nicest subdivision in town, and I’m happy about that. The house needs a good bit of renovation work, so my move-in date won’t occur until October 1. Under the terms of our agreement, I paid a two-month security deposit and four months’ advance rent. This gives the landlord the funds she needs to have the necessary repairs completed. Those include cabinets in the kitchen, aircon in the bedrooms, water heaters for the showers, and some basic furnishings.

We’ve agreed on a monthly rent of 38,000 pesos (around $750.) which is only 3000 more than I currently pay for a much smaller place. Now, I’ve just got to break the news to my current landlord. He’s a great guy, and I feel bad about not fulfilling the lease terms, but I don’t want to miss this opportunity. I suspect I’ll be forced to forfeit my two-month deposit, but hopefully, if I find someone to move here when I leave, it will soften the blow. We shall see.

After completing the deal, I returned home in a celebratory mood. Since it was still too early to drink, I fired up the grill.

I had asked Swan if she wanted to join me on the rooftop of the Capital Reef Hotel but never got a definitive answer. I am firmly in the mode of not pushing her as she works through her grief, so I went with option B–my old standby of drinking alone. I set out for town at beer o’clock without a particular destination in mind and wound up making Cheap Charlies my first stop. I didn’t stay long–a round of lady drinks for my regular crew and a couple beers for me and I was ready to move on.

I was going to check out the newly redesigned Mugshots Bar (added a pool table and dart board). The manager was out front and told me, “Come on in, Mae is working here again!” Hmm, I had met Mae on my first visit several months ago and had seen her outside of work a couple of times. I finally blocked her on social media because of her incessant begging. Nope, sorry, not interested in becoming reacquainted with that one. Of course, I didn’t tell the manager that. Instead, I said, “Some other time,” and walked on.

I had my next beer at Blue Butterfly but just wasn’t feeling the vibe there, so it was one and done. Next up was Bar Barretto, another bar I very rarely visit. I went in yesterday because Jen, the cuddler who used to work at Whiskey Girl, told me she took a job at BB. Jen wasn’t there yet when I first arrived, so I just sat at the bar and enjoyed a cold San Mig Zero. And then I got a message from Lydell asking me to visit Snackbar. Hmm.

My ex had invited me earlier, and I did not respond. The last three times she invited me to visit her there, she ignored me, which honestly hurt my feelings. I resolved not to play the Lucy and Charlie Brown football kick trick game again. On the other hand, Lydell’s invitation seemed sincere, so I messaged her I would try and come by later. Then Jen arrived at work, so I bought her a lady drink before I departed.

As I was walking down the highway on the way to Snackbar and across the street from Sloppy Joe’s, someone called out to me. It was Swan. I waved back, and she pointed up to the roof of the nearby Capital Reef Hotel. I shrugged and gestured to the effect that “I tried.” and then kept walking. We chatted this morning and made plans to do the rooftop on Thursday, so it’s all good.

I arrived at Snackbar, and the place was more crowded than usual. The ex was sitting at a table with several other customers but did come and greet me and asked me to be the music DJ later. Then she rejoined her table, and I became invisible again. Instead of feeling bad, I laughed at myself for being such a putz. My mistake has been thinking that she sees me as anything other than a customer. Just because I thought we’d always have a special friendship doesn’t make it so; that takes two. And I do want to emphasize that I’m not blaming the ex here for anything–she’s entitled to feel what she feels. My reactions to her honest display of a lack of caring do not reflect on her. You’d think a man of my age and experience would know better, but damn, I can really be dense when it comes to matters of the heart.

As I said though, I didn’t let it bum me out. I bought Lydell and Rose lady drinks, had a couple of beers, and then decided there were other places I’d rather be. Memories can take the joy out of drinking, so why risk it? I paid my tab and left. The ex messaged me later and apologized for not having the opportunity to tell me goodbye. I told her it was no problem and I meant it.

Now what? Well, the nearest bar I liked was Whiskey Girl, and I recalled having a 500 peso voucher to use before Friday. I hadn’t been to WG for a couple of weeks and was surprised at how crowded it was. I found a seat in the back that suited me, handed my coupon to the waitress, and ordered a beer. The waitress returned a few minutes later, saying my voucher was for Voodoo, not Whiskey Girl. Oops! I checked my pocket and saw my WG coupon was a “buy a lady drink, get a customer drink” variety. Okay, I can make that work.

In fact, there was a GRO named Kim hovering around next to me. She asked if I remembered her, and I honestly told her I did not. Kim told me she used to work a Queen Victoria, another bar I hadn’t been to for months. So, I invited her to join me and bought a lady drink with my coupon. And I was quite surprised at how much fun Kim was to chat and laugh with. Cute as a bug and quite a snuggler, too.

We are also now friends on Facebook.

And yes, that’s the pathetic state of my life–I’m excited about meeting a new bargirl buddy to drink with. She did express an interest in hiking, though, so we may have something else in common to share. And even if we don’t, I won’t care. Things are what they are, and I’m going with the flow.

The river flows, it flows to the sea
Wherever that river goes, that's where I want to be
Flow, river flow, let your waters wash down, 
Take me from this road to some other town.