Stickman Readers' Submissions April 11th, 2017

A Brand New Plan

A little background.   In November 2015 I made my first submission to Stickman entitled “Regarding Korean Women“. One month later my Korean wife bailed on our marriage, saying only, “I no have happy life with you”.  I was devastated, and went on a two-month drink binge.  Then I changed my mind about drinking myself to death and went on a diet and exercise program, losing 60 pounds so far.  I’m feeling and looking better than I have for years, but my heart remains a mass of scar tissue.

Prior to meeting the Korean woman who became my wife I was well on my way to finalizing my plans to retire in the Subic Bay area in September, 2010.  After falling in love I had to make a choice.  And I chose love over the PI.  I moved back to the USA, bought a house, a car, furniture and lived the American dream.  I was retired and we’d spend 6 months in the States, and 6 months in Korea.  Three years in to this routine the wife declined to come back to America with me.  So I found a job in Korea and came back to her.  And it turned out she wasn’t happy about that.  Never expected I’d be alone again at 60 years old.

He Clinic Bangkok

Nothing to do but pick up the pieces and move forward.  In an odd twist of fate I wound up getting promoted back in to the job I had retired from in 2010.  The pay is great but my heart really isn’t in to it.  And now I’m planning to re-retire in September and move to Subic.  It’s like déjà vu all over again!  Only I’ve lost 7 fxxking years of my life in the interim.

I’ve sold the house and everything I own in the USA (at a significant loss) and have no intention of ever going back there.  Korea is too full of painful memories and I’m ready to move on to the next chapter (the final chapter?) of my life.  I’ll start in the PI and if that doesn’t work out, I’m inclined to give Cambodia a try.

But this post is about love.  Or more precisely, how I’m done with love.  After the split with the wife, I started cruising the dating websites.  I was pretty good at ferreting out the scammers (having been scammed a time or two back in the day).  Met a couple that I thought had potential and spent a lot of time chatting on Skype.  The first was Maria and she wound up scaring the hell out of me by professing her undying love before we had even met.  I kept telling her to back up and slow down as I was nowhere ready to go to the being in love place.  We met up in March in Cebu / Mactan and had a good time together.  I promised to see her again for her birthday in June.  This time we met in her hometown on Samal Island.  Again, I enjoyed her company but was unwilling and unable to return the love she wanted to share.  Finally, as an act of mercy I ended it with her.  Felt bad about her pain, but truth is, it was self-inflicted.  I warned her and warned her about the love thing.  I just wasn’t willing to do that.

CBD bangkok

Then a friend introduced me to a Korean woman.  Now, I had sworn off Korean women (pretty on the outside, cold as ice inside).  But she got under my skin.  I took her to visit the Angeles / Subic area in September.  She enjoyed her visit but was put off by my plans to retire there. She asked me “who would want to live in a poor country?” She also was not happy with the old men parading their young Pinay beauties down the street. Suffice to say, things ended badly with her.  And that’s when I finally knew I was truly and forever done with love. I’m just too old for that shit.

Meanwhile, I had continued an irregular communication with one of the first gals I met on Filipina Cupid.  I liked her because she was smart and could actually carry on an interesting conversation.  I would have preferred meeting Loraine over Maria to begin with, but Loraine had confessed to having a guy in the States sending her support, so I backed away.  After the Korean gal ended the relationship I got in touch with Loraine again.  Turns out she was in a long-distance, but unfulfilling relationship with some sad sack back in the States.  Didn’t matter to me, I wasn’t looking for love anyway, and I still enjoyed our chats.

Loraine had been an OFW (overseas Filipino Worker) in Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia, and Vietnam.  The Vietnam job had ended badly and she was back in the PI, unemployed and because of her age basically unemployable.  So, I had made plans to visit Puerto Galera over the 2017 New Year holiday.  Loraine had spent quite a bit of time there, and since I enjoyed her company over the internet I figured maybe I’d like her in person.  I offered her employment as a tour guide and she accepted.

We got on quite well during the trip and I was glad I’d brought her along.  Especially when I wound up sick and she was able to provide the TLC I needed.  Which gave me an idea.  Why not hire her full-time as my personal assistant / caregiver to take care of my needs when I move to the PI?

wonderland clinic

So, I made her a job offer.  Monday-Friday, paid holidays and vacations, outstanding pay and benefits, including room and board.  Her job would be to do all things a girlfriend / wife might do.  I simply want companionship without all the bullshit that comes from a “loving” relationship.  Loraine did not hesitate to accept my offer and appears excited about the opportunity.

Will it work?  Who knows.  I’ve already advised her that falling in love with me or any other overt indications of jealousy or similar behaviors would be grounds for termination.  She’s been warned. And since she is an employee, I won’t be bothered with all those requests to support the family, that’s what her paycheck is for.

I think it’s a good concept that gives me what I want and need with relatively minimal risk.  It will be interesting to see if the theory plays out in practice.  We recently completed a successful ten-day test run during an exploratory house-hunting trip to Subic. I’ve put her on a retainer (1/2 salary) pending my move in September. She’s using this time to attend massage training and caregiver school.

I think I may have found the perfect alternative to love and all its baggage. Can I actually pull it off? Stay tuned!

The author can be contacted at : thewalrus1955@gmail.com

nana plaza