The very day after Chad leaves, I started by having a single drink at home and visiting Blue Mango where I had two more drinks and a large quesedilla over the next few hours. Had the bag with Chads and my diving gear sitting nearby.

Current total: 3 drinks and a decent meal over 5 hours. Still sober. Clear memories up to this point. All-day brownout still in effect.

Next is Cocoloco’s and its blurry. I cannot recall having drinks, sitting on the stool or bench, talking to anyone, or havoing the backpack. The only memories are of a pizza in front of me and a certain view: I was in the front about where the benches and stools meet and I looked to see Jo-Ann sitting at the stairway table with that strange smiling guy that was trying to barfine her the night before. I remember that view clearly and thinking… wow… they pimped out one of the staff?

Time: 21:00 and sober back in the room, unpacking the scuba gear. I remember this clearly, thinking I had just come from Blue Mango…. The whole Cocoloco event wouldnt be remembered for a couple days.

Feeling sober, I tripped to Sundown for some finer snack food like good cheese, salami, imported drinks. Stopped on the way back for a single drink at Red Pirates and had a conversation with Rose Ann about her other job – I clearly remember these events and being sober enough to feel slightly bored (which is really sober for me). Brownout ended and I brought the groceries home.

Time: 21:45 and damnit, I forgot eggs! Drinks: 6ish I’m assuming a couple at cocoloco for the tally. I remember being clearheaded. After getting sari store eggs, I stop at Island Staff dive shop for a few drinks with some friends. Acos makes a great spanish omlette with the offerings. He does it pulutan – appetizer fingerfood style.

Time: 23:00 got my good drank on now baby! Group splits, I return home.
Whoops, I need to get phone load for tonight…. Get it…. Stop next door at the Cowboy-something bar and…
… And yup, there it goes blurry again. I clearly remember the ending and departing, but none of my stay at the cowboy although I clearly remember only having a single drink.

Time: 12:00 – midnight. Drinks: 10 or less, not even up to snuff for my daylong average. Woke up angry and fitful.
There I was, having a lite week, staying generally sober – but nooooo, someones god had an attack of “lets fuck with JD”.
You hear me Universe?!? I fucking WIN! You suck, now go cause miscarriages in breeder 3rd world countries or something else useful… we saw what you did in Haiti, thats a good start, little low on the body count but its a good start.

We have the interesting assortment of holiday decorations in the resorts such as small potted mango trees as Christmas trees and light strings hung all over as well as the begger kids singing carols for coins – they excell at embarrasing forigners into large tips by yelping as if struck.

They don’t tend to play traditional versions of holiday songs but instead remixes of pop-80′s remakes of holiday songs and it really works for an area like this… After all, slow songs about snowy winters means little on a tropical island. Right now, I’m listening to a reggae christmas version of “I’ve Got You Babe” with St Nick tossed in the mix.

There,s going to be some midnight mass events and regardless of being the Atheist I am, it’s still nice to witness age old traditions.

.

“Sorry, we are closed for delivery”

–what time do you close for delivery?

“two a.m., sir”

– what time is it now?

“twelve twenty five, sir”

– can I get an order for delivery?

“sorry sir, we are closed for delivery”

I can see it in every face that I pass….

Haven't been down on the beach in a week and last time I walked to D'Mall it was like running marathon – wow I'm outta shape. Today I've got to get out and away from this construction, perhaps work on the new place some and see if Bennie is anywhere to be found with the materials and split-unit aircon. Today seems like a good day to visit crafts and buy that load of appliances except they supposedly don't take credit cards at the moment; waiting on confirmation for that one. The bank locks up my card if I start hitting ATM's like they were crack dispensers.

I really, really, really, really don't want to go through D'Mall or anywhere near it or even the walk there with 5 million mother fucking vendors harassing the shit out of me every 5 steps. I know it seems reasonable when people say "just ignore them" but it take a low class half-intelligent person to not get bothered when someone follows them for 30 minutes repeating "lemons are yellow… lemons are yellow… lemons are yellow" all day and yes, that exactly what it is because they repeated the same damn thing over and over.

Halloween is almost here and I've no mood to deal with it.

It seems I ripped the zipper off my shorts a few nights ago and only hope that was after getting home. Upon waking, I remembered finding that zipper behind the coffee-mug-o-rubber-bands. A zipper-pull that I’ve no clue of its origins but have been holding onto for over a year. Problem solved.

Part of the blackout stumble came back and found me in the G&C store by Station 3 and the girls remembered my leaving a pocket notebook five months before…… and they still had it! I think they want my body.

I suck at things like wiping high-ceiling walls and sweeping so cleaning of the new place has been a concern. Sho’ ‘nuf, one of the few girls I trust says she’ll do it for only 125 pesos a day, once a week. Only $2.50 USD a day!

I’m not one to go walking around getting things. I’ll walk for booze or booze or even possibly booze, but I dislike moving about Boracay for shopping, groceries, hardware store stuff, etc… Same day, no kidding, another girl agrees to do my shopping for cost-plus-5%. Heck,  I pay more than 5% of my average Budget Mart/Crafts receipt just in hiring a private trike!

I’m in the middle east, Jordan or Isreal I think. High up on a hillside in a chateau and its nice; surrounding area is fairly barren. Suddenly the earth shifts down on the peak nearby and everything sinks. It’s the only other peak, everything else is flattish and more of a dark brown loam rather than sandy light color. The ground shifts down and everything slouches down in a massive sink-hole effect. I’m fine, take cell phone pics then go over there to take more close up pics. While there, high on the very top, it shifts again and more slouches down and theres some destruction of small sructures. I have a panic attack trying to get down as its now steep and keep thinking of how to get credit for my pics after emailing them to CNN. Watermark or not?

Now down, I try taking more pics but the damn phone wont flip right, godamn fucking phone, im really enraged at the phone and break its flip screen. Suddenly I’m in a small rave somewhere and everyones in costume and rolling E. Lots of gays everywhere and one couple, (dressed like the ladyboy troupe from Halloween 2007 Summer Place contest), invite me to their place but I decline as their intentions are quite clear. Then the place empties really fast and the lights come up. A dufus looking white guy (only other white guy there) has an ecstasy-swollen eyebrow and talking about his face not being right… no shit, you’ve rolled too long.

While some people deal with him I head fo the stairs to leave and someone says its 9:30am. I look at my phone and it has a list of times that are pretty regular till midnight, then skips to 1 or 2 then to 7 then to 9:30. I wonder if maybe I passed out for a few hours.

I wake up from this dream, hungover in bed. It’s 9:30 am.

But here, its been  OK with cool days and a nominal breeze. The waters calmed down so diving is back on. I’m trying to get away from rum & coke and San Miguel beer (both lite and pils) just tastes like shit to me so I’m drinking  a lot of pina~colada’s . After coming back, I found my contacts don’t ‘work’ anymore so I’ll need to get a new contact prescription although the glasses still work just fine. Until then, no diving for me.

Theres a Filipino group here on vacation for the past few days and it seems to be three married couples and a few kids. They tend to buy food/drink at Budget Mart then plop down on the beach in front of a resort for the whole afternoon, obviously on a small budget. Yesterday afternoon, I shit you not, their kids came begging money from me. How fucking low-class can you get?! Your kids begging for money while on vacation!

Been eating a lot at Blue Mango, Cocolocos, and Sundown but at $6-8 bux a meal (1st world prices), its kinda just been average food. Possibly the supplies. Even Carne Bora sent me some tough meat. It might sound interesting but trust me, mayonnaise and chopped garlic does not make a good shrimp tempura sauce although it’s better than nothing. Yesterday was perfect weather for me but a fast bug hit me shortly before sundown and I had to retire for the day.

Around noon, I realized what day it was and headed down to sip-n-grip some purple drank! a.k.a. anything with alcohol. The only plan was to make the rounds, Jammers and all. Starting with a few Piña Colada’s from Blue Mango but there wasn’t anyone about, not even strangers to drink with next door at Cocolocos. Clearly, this end of the beach was drop-dead-empty. Not a soul in the restos, on the beach, or it the pathway. Moving down the beach to Red Pirates, there were some French Canadians engaged in getting their drank on. Mai Tai’s yea, that sounds good! Jen, Don, Canadian, friends who’s name escapes me, and another dude that said he was American but sounded British Royalty. People came, people went. Apparently, I never made it up the beach to Station 2 & 1.

Don’t really remember leaving, but at least the morning light didn’t reveal any chicken wings stuck to the wall this time.

Theres little food here, rotten mangos, a flooded bathroom, and I have 2 properties and soon to be a third. Cant wear contacts anymore but cant remember why.

When they called on the intercom doctors or medics on the plane, a few of our eyes met and knew we’d better keep our mouths shut. One idiot didn’t and went back where they expected him to do some over-the-Pacific life saving — what a dumb-ass. Watched her a few times trying to wander off, trying to sleep but not making it, stomach pain…. I knew exactly what it was. This girl was on shrooms at 40,000 feet and couldn’t handle it.

They put her in my center row seating right about the time I started hallucinating tracers from a lack of sleep and too much cold medication. She appeared to be the only one noticing my condition and tried telling me it was gonna be OK. Great, the crazy girl is taking care of me now.

She spoke English but kept using some kind of hand signals to communicate… oddly enough, I understood. She couldn’t figure out if she was hot or cold. I slept finally and we woke to differing movies…. of course, I was thinking of taking her for a mile-high club membership but figured I’d get arrested for taking advantage of a crazy person. She signed her desire for my bottle of Gatorade – I gave it to her. Not because I was nice but ’cause I wanted to shag her in Korea.

Woke again shortly before landing……… she was gone. Her stuff was gone. The flight attendants asked where she had gone to which worried me, losing a person on a plane over the Pacific Ocean doesn’t normally happen.

Korean Air planes are nice and the service staff has got to be the best service attendants I’ve seen anywhere in the world. One note, unless you speak Korean, take your own entertainment. The western movies are in Korean and even the subtitles are in an Asian symbol-language. The in-flight magazines are mostly Korean as well as the SkyMall, which is huge but mostly women’s cosmetics and accessories…. and in Korean. An mp3 player with a lot of blue-collar comedy recordings goes a long way.

The flight back didn’t go as planned so I never made it through Moscow but instead stayed in Seoul overnight and got back a day earlier than planned. I gotta say, Koreans (in Korea) are possibly the nicest, most polite humans I’ve ever encountered. Considering how they act here… who knew? Guess I went from living 15 years in war zones to living in the Philippines a few years ago, and forgot what real hospitality and nice people were like. People in the US are also nicer than here but Koreans take the award, hands down.