The day began with a Wednesday Waltermart walk and ended with a what the fuck moment. Let me tell you all about it.
When I asked Swan where she wanted to spend our evening hours, she surprised me by saying anywhere but the Maze bars (Sloppy Joe’s, Alaska, Green Room, and Wet Spot). So, that provided the incentive to re-initiate the Wednesday tradition of patronizing seldom-visited bars.
We started out at my old darts bar home, Alley Hideout. Lots of memories here, and still some familiar faces. A warm greeting from the owner inspired me to ring the bell (a drink for everyone working), and we settled in for a pleasant hour-long visit. Swan commented on how much she enjoys the friendly vibe here and said we should make it a weekly event. I concurred.
Then we scooted safely across the highway for some dinner and beach views at Mango’s.
We enjoyed our usual grilled pork chops, then headed out for our next venue, Cloud 69. The last time we visited was several weeks ago, and we didn’t stay long because our favorite waitress wasn’t working and the music sucked. Sheryl was back last night, and so was the classic rock we enjoy.
On one of the forums I frequent, PI@Night, someone had posted a photo from the days when Subic town had a bar scene similar to Barretto.
One of the dancers I knew from her days at Cheap Charlies joined us at our table, too. Turns out she went to the same high school as Swan. We handed out cookies and lollipops for the crew, and purchased two lady drinks each for our tablemates. As usual, I specified single lady drinks (180 pesos) served in a glass as opposed to a bottled drink for 300 pesos each. The guy at the table across from us was buying bottles of Red Horse beer for 400 pesos a pop.
So, the girls told us about a customer in the bar the night before who was in full two-week millionaire mode, buying multiple lady drinks for everyone working. I was astounded when they said his tab at the 3 a.m. closing was 60,000 pesos. Wowza! That’s over one thousand US dollars. And he wasn’t done yet. When the bar closed, he invited some of the girls to join him at Sloppy Joe’s, a bar that is open twenty-four hours.
And here’s where that WTF moment arrived. Sheryl revealed that Cloud 69 management found out about the girls who joined the customer at Sloppy Joe’s and deducted 500 pesos from their salary for doing a sneakout. For those who are unaware of the bar system, if a girl wants to leave with a customer, the customer (or the girl in some bars) has to pay a “barfine” or EWR (early work release) fee. But in this case, the girls had completed their shift, and they were on their own time. For me, attempting to control what a girl can do during her off-duty hours crosses a line into the human trafficking realm.
Anyway, hearing about this pissed me off, and I was ready to leave anyway, so I asked for my tab. I foolishly trust the bars most of the time, but because of what I had just been told, I asked Swan to review our bill carefully. And sure enough, the four single lady drinks I had ordered were charged as doubles. I sent waitress Sheryl back to the cashier to straighten things out, and she came back a few minutes later with the corrected amount owed. I paid and left, not thinking for a minute that this had been a mistake rather than a scam. Needless to say, I won’t be returning to Cloud 69 and their evil ways in the future.
We grabbed a trike for home and brought our crazy day to an end.
I have moved on to July 2010 in the LTG archives. I wrote about my planned retirement, which was less than sixty days away, and with an upcoming house-hunting trip to the PI scheduled, I was beginning to question whether my dream would become a nightmare, and I was also starting to realize how much I was going to miss Korea.
I also came across some other memories:
I hadn’t thought of gramps in like forever, so I just Googled him and was surprised to see him mentioned in a blog called Okie Legacy. The relevant portion reads:
“Hal Clinkenbeard and family are visiting at the parental home during his vacation. He is in the Railway mail Service on a run between memphis and McAlester. In a chat with Hal, his memory harked back to the time when we were dispensing gas and oil for Dunn Wilkinson and he plied me with questions regarding the whereabouts of Olin and Phylllis chase and Merle Lewellen. He also brought me the good news that his father was well enough Monday to be brought down town a little while Monday.
Weird shit. The other thing I noticed was that Hal looks a lot like my brother Greg.
I’m so isolated from family these days that I feel like an orphan. Ah, well. It’s the life I chose to live.
Today’s YouTube video is an old 1960s promo from Pan Am Airlines to get folks to travel to the Philippines. It’s an enjoyable watch in a throwback kind of way.
Let’s see if I can avoid repeating myself with today’s humorous picks:
And that’s all I’ve got. Thanks for your indulgence.
So, that provided the incentive to re-initiate the Wednesday tradition of patronizing seldom-visited bars.
I didn’t realize that this tradition had already gone defunct.
Swan commented on how much she enjoys the friendly vibe here and said we should make it a weekly event. I concurred.
We should place bets on what happens if the girls start to ignore your table, the bar plays the wrong music, or the place runs out of wine!
The waters of Subic Bay.
And the sky is still moody.
The last time we visited was several weeks ago, and we didn’t stay long because our favorite waitress wasn’t working and the music sucked. Sheryl was back last night, and so was the classic rock we enjoy.
See what I mean? Bad music = no John.
Needless to say, I won’t be returning to Cloud 69 and their evil ways in the future.
Oh, I don’t know. The flip side of the “no John” thing is how forgiving you are, even if the forgiveness takes a while. In a small town, you either learn to forgive each other, or you go crazy and kill each other.
Say hey to Easter Mountain’s ass for me.
Kevin, now that I know Swan wants variety, Wednesday will be dedicated to trying somewhere new (or newish). I’d had that in my mind, but didn’t really act on it with regularity previously.
HaHa! Yes, wine and good music are prerequisites to remain on my list of places to go. Also, I’ll be avoiding places where the bartender calls me stupid (I’m looking at you, Cheap Charlies).
Music is a big part of the vibe I’m looking for in a bar. As an early-bird, I’m often the only customer in the place, so why play shit I don’t like? Barretto is full of old geezers who like the old stuff, not bullshit rap. And with over fifty bars to choose from, I can be choosy.
I guess one should never say never, but Cloud 69 crossed a line. If I can’t trust a bar to not pad my bill, it takes the fun out of drinking there. Maybe once my cognitive ability to remember is depleted, I’ll forget, even if I don’t forgive.
Sean Strickland recently said hiking is feminine and gay. At what precise time will you quit the Hash group today, mister? In the blink of an eye?
[Sigh… second attempt. Feel free to delete the first. Caught a stupid typo.]
Thanks for writing “Kevin,” not “Kev.” But if you really, really prefer short forms, “K” is fine. I do it in my email correspondence all the time. It’s OK as a written form; no one ever verbally calls me “K.” I wouldn’t like that, anyway.
Forgetting but not forgiving seems impossible. My mother’s big sister has gone senile as she approaches 90; she used to be a combative, unpleasant woman, and she became more so during Mom’s brain cancer. Now, she can’t even remember that Mom’s dead, and she lights up with joy to see her relatives; my brother David visited her two or three years ago, and she asked how Mom was doing, all bitterness forgotten. Must be nice.
@Kevin said:
>Swan commented on how much she enjoys the friendly vibe here and said we should make it a weekly event. I concurred.
>We should place bets on what happens if the girls start to ignore your table, the bar plays the wrong music, or the place runs out of wine!
I had to chuckle at the above as I was thinking the same thing. But, as you have pointed out many times, there are a lot of choices in your little neck of the world, so voting with your feet is not a bad thing.
Re: missing Korea
I realize that I have mentioned it before, but you should give thought to a couple of week trip back to Korea, seeing not only your stomping grounds but also other places you did not go to while living there. The saying “you cant go home again” is probably true, especially since where you were has such a transient population, but Korea is an interesting place to visit. (And Swan would probably enjoy seeing it also.)
Brian, damn, you know me too well! Anyway, spreading my wings and trying new joints has been refreshing so far. We are becoming big fans of Jumpin’ Jacks lately.
Korea is a place I miss, but it is also my past. Last time I was there I felt totally out of place surrounded by memories of days gone by and unable to overcome the sadness they brought with them. Maybe enough time has gone by now that I could enjoy things as they are. Trying new places and having Swan along would help with that. I’ll have to check and see if it is hard for a Filipina to get a tourist visa.
Sorry for the late response, Gary. I think Strickland must have taken one too many hits to the head. We all know you have to be gay to join the UFC (ultimate fag club).