I made it through my miserable hangover day. It reminded me of my COVID symptoms: no energy, light-headed, and without appetite. I took a day off from walking and just lazed around the house, napping off and on. By the time evening rolled around, I was feeling marginally better, so I ventured out to see what Saturday night held in store for me.

I kicked things off at It Doesn’t Matter, and waitresses Agnes and Juliet immediately noticed that something was off with me, And not just because I ordered a San Mig Zero instead of gins and soda. They commented on my wounds, and I had to tell the story of my sordid encounter with gravity the night before. I took my time downing two cold bottles (3% alcohol and 60 calories each), then decided I needed to have my first meal of the day.

IDM no longer serves food, but the Hops and Brews beer garden seemed like a good option, so off I went. I hadn’t been here since my first date with Lydell, but I couldn’t hold the restaurant responsible for that failed attempt at a relationship. Hops and Brews is a beer connoisseur’s dream with draft and bottled brews from around the world. I just wanted to stick with my new old favorite, Zero, but alas, that’s one brand they don’t carry. I had to settle for a San Miguel Light (5% alcohol and 100 calories) to wash down my tasty sweet and sour pork dinner. One beer here and out.

Next stop, BarCelona. Two Zeros consumed as I enjoyed the view of my former hangout, Cheap Charlies. My eyes are not good enough to make out faces from that distance, but the bar didn’t seem very busy. I wonder if the gals there are missing me my lady drinks largesse? Sorry seems to be the hardest word, right, Nerissa?

I’m happy to report that my drinking low-alcohol beer slowly strategy seemed to be working quite well. I wanted to finish my night at the scene of my crime, Wet Spot, to see if I had engaged in any behaviors that warranted an apology. Both my waitress, Irene, and owner, Dave, assured me that while I appeared to be having a good time, I had not been rude or otherwise obnoxious. Dave even bought me a beer!

So, after eight beers on the night, I went home with a light buzz but no discernable physical impairment. That’s always the goal. My Fitbit tells me I fell asleep at 8:40 p.m. and awoke at 3:47 a.m. That’s a tad early on both ends, but it suits me better than waking up on the floor, that’s for sure.

I am happy to report that I’m feeling back to normal today.

I did a 7K walk this morning that went well despite my being a little winded towards the end. Coincidentally, as I concluded my hike, I saw a sign for a new funeral parlor:

And I got a message from one of my former employees, Sherry Villanueva, and she sent me this photo of those long ago days when I was her boss in Korea.

My favorite story about Sherry came immediately after I hired her. I interviewed by telephone, so I had never seen her before. She was the most qualified, so she’s the one I picked. I never gave a crap about EEO and their “underrepresentation” stats. I picked the best person for the job and didn’t care what color they were. Still, I assumed with a name like “Villanueva,” she was Hispanic, and EEO would tick off that box. I was surprised to get an email from EEO congratulating me on meeting my Pacific Islander goal. Yep, Sherry is a Filipina. What a world.

Anyway, Sherry only worked for me for a couple of years before starting a new job in the USA. We remained Facebook friends but very rarely had any contact. And now, she is returning to Korea to my old job as the Director, Human Resources Management for USFK/8th Army. Congratulations, and good luck to her! It’s great to see someone you mentored become such a success.

And the wheel in the sky keeps on turning.

UPDATE: I’m not sure if everyone is having the same issues I and at least one of my readers are having accessing my blog. I’ve tried to contact HostGator to see what the issue is but have not had any success with that either. The issue seems to come and go, so check back later if, at first, you don’t succeed.