I’m sure it comes as no surprise to my faithful readers that Mango’s beach bar is my favorite place to hang out and enjoy a cold beer after a hard day of being retired. And now I have achieved the coveted status of “regular”. How do I know this? Well, I’m Facebook friends with the manager (a woman I’d love to get to know better), the bartender, and the waitress. They always seem happy to see me, almost like family.

Anyway, I popped into Mango’s for a quick one after Monday’s Hash. The place was packed which is very unusual given the current COVID situation. I was disappointed to see my favorite seat on the outside patio was occupied. Oh, well. I shrugged and told the bartender and manager I’d come back another time. So I went next door to Palm Tree and had a perfectly acceptable evening with the same view.

Then yesterday at about my regular beer drinking time of 5 p.m. I get a message from Mango’s bartender: “your seat is ready and waiting for you, Sir John.”

They have even stocked my beer of choice, San Miguel Zero. I need to lose this beer belly after all. Anyway, it is nice to have found my new bar home, a feeling I haven’t enjoyed since those Itaewon days at Shenanigans.

It’s somewhat odd but these days I’ve found that I do not like drinking inside. I was never much for the girly bars anyway, but even a place like the dart bar, Alley Cats, seems cramped and depressing. I just like to sip my beer and watch the world go by nowadays. Maybe that is a vestige of being a grouchy old man. I don’t know about that, but I know what I like.

Like anywhere I suppose, there are good days and bad days. Yesterday’s beach view was not nearly as pleasant as normal.

Yeah, it’s an old joke but seeing these ladies made me think of it last night. And to be clear, I have no issue with fat girls enjoying beach time. Just very unusual to see around here, that’s all.

Here’s an update on the situation with my married neighbor, “Judy” I wrote about here. Taking the advice of my readers to heart, I’ve pulled way back and taken a wait and see attitude. If and when she is a free woman I’ll consider giving her a go to see what happens. I mean, it’s not like I’m going anywhere or actively looking for love or anything. Judy has continued to message me a lot and I give short, almost non-responsive, answers–i.e., I ignored her “I love you” entreaties. I guess she didn’t like my new approach much. I received this message from her this morning (I’m posting it verbatim. This is what passes as decent English in these parts. Still, it is better than my Tagalog):

Jonh,sorry for everything if what ive done to you,for all the thing that i hurt YOU,im so sorry,but i wanna say thank you so much for your care suport àttention and everything,i feels like i fource you,ok jonh i just ganna let you go but what ever happened in my life im so thankfull that i have you in my life even in a short while thank you jonh,i appriciated everything your goodness and kindness for me,mybe this is my life that i need to be alone thanks jonh very very much.i love you, babye,always be take care your self,dont for get that okbye expect that i dont send you a messages anymore,thank you and GOD BLESS YOU.

You know, I feel like she is a good woman trapped in a horrible situation. Still, it is one of her own making. Or maybe she really does love the loser she married. Not my problem though and this is one time I’m glad I wasn’t stupid enough to get sucked into all the drama. I responded with a good luck and wish you well message and haven’t heard from her since.

Meanwhile, Facebook shared a memory with me from 8 years ago:

This morning I cooked up a batch of chili con carne. Although it turns out the carne was pork. I saw ground meat in the fridge and went to work. When my helper came downstairs she told me it wasn’t ground beef. Oh well, it worked. Not my favorite though.

A very pleasant hike with my Wednesday mates today. I’ll post about that tomorrow. And don’t forget to check in on Kevin Kim’s marathon walk to Busan. He’s on Day 3 already and posting some great photos from the journey.

Peace out!