Comments Posted By Brian

Displaying 721 To 750 Of 1,084 Comments

Irresponsible

I think it is a whole laid back attitude in most of SE Asia. In Indonesian, there is a slang – “jam kurat” which means rubber time. In other words, time is not fixed, it has a tendency to stretch here and there. LOL

» Posted By Brian On 16/September/2022 @ 1:24 am

Hare it is

I did not know that harrier was a bird.

However, as a former cross country runner, I do know that runners are referred to as harriers.

» Posted By Brian On 14/September/2022 @ 12:47 am

Sometimes you just gotta SOB

Having a Bidenesque moment, but what ever happened to the small restaurant that you provided some of the seed money to get started?

Cant remember the name, so maybe you mention it quite frequently and I am just missing it. LOL

» Posted By Brian On 11/September/2022 @ 1:58 am

Early out

Sorry to hear about your friend. Bummer.

Never smoked and I think why I never started was a PSA we had to watch in grade school. It was about a smoker how had throat cancer, had a tracheotomy , and was so addicted that he continued to smoke through the whole in his throat.

Anyway, hope that the visit with the docs was time well spent.

» Posted By Brian On 10/September/2022 @ 11:34 am

Tired

Yeah, hope the coughing/tiredness etc passes soon.

Good on ya’ on the other stuff you do! It does make a difference

» Posted By Brian On 09/September/2022 @ 12:27 am

Bars of Barretto: Updated Rankings

Most ranking are subjective, and your opinion is just as valid as anybody’s! LOL

As you noted, lots of variability – could depend on if you were there at 10 pm rather than 7 pm, which waitresses were on duty that particular evening, your mood, etc. That is what makes it fun.

Anyways, I enjoy the rankings.

» Posted By Brian On 05/September/2022 @ 11:38 am

At the Hash

@Kevin, I was thinking the same thing. Big group.

Is there a meaning behind the “Best Boss Ever” saying on your birthday cup? Or was it one of those generic cups with writing that he added the pic of you in the scooter?

» Posted By Brian On 30/August/2022 @ 11:26 pm

Time marches on

Happy Birthday John! Here’s to many more!!!

» Posted By Brian On 27/August/2022 @ 11:50 pm

Chillin’

Your comment about the poverty is similar to my experience when I first went to India. It took me a month or two to see past the extreme poverty. During my initial month or two there, it was quite jarring and really bothered me.

» Posted By Brian On 27/August/2022 @ 11:45 pm

Too dazed

When does your lease run out on your current place? Time to start scouting for a new abode?

» Posted By Brian On 17/August/2022 @ 10:08 pm

Hair of the dog that bit me

Yeah, mean dogs suck. If I am doing any long distance hiking, I carry an ultrasonic whistle. That plus my trekking poles seems to help. But, if you are walking dogs also, the ultrasonic whistle would probably create more chaos. Maybe get Mace spray or something like that?

Do the mean dog in question belong to an expat you know or is it a local.

I assume that Lucky came through it okay?

» Posted By Brian On 14/August/2022 @ 11:54 pm

The cost of freedom

John, as you alluded to; freedom is never completely free.

Seems like you are feeling better (almost back to 100%?), and in the grand scheme of things, that is much more important.

» Posted By Brian On 12/August/2022 @ 12:26 am

To live is to fly

Agree with what Kevin said about finding new outlets. But, the human brain is a mysterious piece of hardware, and depression something equally as mysterious.

Is being a rut causing your feelings of depression, or is the depression causing you to be in a rut?

But, it definitely would not hurt to change up your surrounding and stimuli a bit. It may involve travel to different parts of the PI. It may involve shorter travel. I know i mentioned before meetup.org Guessing there is not much activity in your neck of the woods, but maybe a long weekend (or weekends) to someplace like Manila if there are actives that pique your interest. See if that helps.

Have mentioned the layman’s definition of insanity: repeating the same action (or maybe activity) and expecting a different result. Maybe also applies a bit to depression. :shrug

But definitely worth a shot to shake things up a bit.

» Posted By Brian On 05/August/2022 @ 8:53 am

Pure Gold

Funny, just saw something where a person used pool noodles around the collar of a dog to prevent them from scratching rather than the cone of shame. Seemed to work quite well. Looks a bit less dorky, but I really dont think that the dog cares one way or the other.

» Posted By Brian On 05/August/2022 @ 8:34 am

Dizzy Hash

Glad you made it through. Small steps forward, but moving in the right direction.

(BTW, seems like a dog like a husky(?) or malamute(?) would be super hot in a climate like that.)

» Posted By Brian On 02/August/2022 @ 10:27 pm

Low voltage

EDIT TO ADD: The daughter had/has long COVID and has been battling that for more than year and a half. Caught COVID in Nov 2020.

(Not trying to a Debbie Downer, as situations like that are pretty few and far between)

Odds are that what you have is much more benign.

» Posted By Brian On 01/August/2022 @ 12:02 pm

Maybe you were getting a false negative on the COVID test? Weird taste/smell changes as well as general lethargy happened to the daughter of a friend of mine.

Hopefully not, and as Kevin says, just a case of general convalescence.

» Posted By Brian On 01/August/2022 @ 11:59 am

Steppin’ up and steppin’ out

John, glad you are on the road to recovery!! Good to hear

» Posted By Brian On 29/July/2022 @ 11:10 pm

Smiles, frowns, and SOBs

Just curious if anybody uses two trekking poles. I am a two pole person when trekking. Tried using only one, but seems to throw me off. LOL

(Love the pic of the father(?) and little kid hauling firewood back to their abode)

» Posted By Brian On 23/July/2022 @ 11:14 pm

Off to the market

OUCH: “I met Heidi’s mother (she took the picture), and we are now Facebook friends.”

Why? Are you really interested in what goes on in her life? You just met her.

So, when you get a message from her asking for money because of some “emergency”, you only have yourself to blame. LOL

» Posted By Brian On 21/July/2022 @ 11:27 pm

Pissed off

Maybe you just need to really limit who you give your telephone # to, or refuse Facebook friend requests, etc. That way, if they are looking for funds, they will have to contact you in person. May not completely stop the requests, but will certainly limit them.

» Posted By Brian On 18/July/2022 @ 9:07 am

Two rainy day people

Looking at a graph of rainfall in the PI, looks like it peak at the end of August and then drops off. Another six weeks of wet fun………..

» Posted By Brian On 14/July/2022 @ 11:55 pm

It’s good to be rich

Yeah, if the dollar continues to strengthen, better to have the charges in pesos (assuming of course that your credit card does not charge any foreign transaction fees).

I was in Brazil when they were having hyperinflation (high 3 digit inflation!). They stopped accepting credit cards because in the 30 days or so before they would receive payment, the money was only worth half of what it was previously. Everything had to be paid for in cash.

» Posted By Brian On 14/July/2022 @ 11:50 pm

I guess I am in the minority amongst us three regarding vaccines, but I will leave it at that. LOL

Re: Steak prices – are they pricing in USD? Why would they do that? I would think that when the US military had their presence, dollars were probably pretty widely circulated. Is that still the case? To me, it would be like going into a US supermarket and having a price in pesos or British pounds, etc.

» Posted By Brian On 14/July/2022 @ 8:14 am

Winner winner chicken dinner!

Has your old place in Alta Vista ever been rented (or sold)?

» Posted By Brian On 12/July/2022 @ 1:32 am

Getting there

John, I can understand your dilemma. I tend to drink mixed drinks at the same rate as drinking beer. So a 12 oz mixed drink takes me just as long to finish as a 12 oz beer, though it probably has 300% of the alcohol. So yeah, that is a problem.

You could try alternating one mixed drink, one XXX (XXX = water, flavored water, etc) or ask them to make 1/2 shot drinks, :shrug

I am sure you will find what works best for you.

» Posted By Brian On 04/July/2022 @ 10:49 am

A drunken SOB

Yeah, you brought up a good point. I have BCBS, and I looked at my policy. Same as yours – “while overseas, you MAY be required to pay out of pocket and get reimbursed, etc” Fortunately, no lifetime cap on expenses, but the initial payment is something to think about making sure I dont end up sitting in some hospital hallway. Fortunately, I believe I have that covered, but something to confirm.

Mike’s situation is an unfortunate reminder to make sure you plan for the unexpected.

» Posted By Brian On 05/July/2022 @ 3:40 am

I hope Mike recovers soon. But, I am assuming he does not have insurance? I am assuming you do? Occasionally, I hear about an expat in Thailand who has been injured/fallen sick/etc and there is a request for help. I feel bad for these guys, and while I would like to think I am invincible, I also am smart enough to know I am not, and having proper medical insurance as a backstop is a requirement for me.

I have trouble understanding why someone would set up life in a developing country (or any country for that matter) and be one accident/sickness away from having to ask for funds to stay alive. From a picture you posted earlier, appears that he has a family, which makes me shake my head even more.

RE: hospitals – Night and day difference in quality of care etc in a private vs. public hospital in a place like the Philippines. Again, all the more reason for insurance.

» Posted By Brian On 04/July/2022 @ 10:40 am

Deviants

Yeah, I would be pretty pissed (no pun intended) if I was following a trail, and it required me to wade through something like that. Doesn’t make sense.

Seeing you ended up at Treasure Island – any of the floating restaurants back in business?

» Posted By Brian On 29/June/2022 @ 11:10 pm

Disappointed

Some pretty astute comments above. Yes, it does seem like you are looking for a deeper connection that you are currently finding in the bars.

BUT, that being the case, why do you continually try and find that connection among the ladies in the bars. Not going to happen. Layman’s definition of insanity and all that.

I am going to repeat something I said before:

You are looking for a unicorn. Your checklist
Age: 20’s
Body: Playboy quality
Sexual knowledge: co-wrote the Kama Sutra
Education level: University grad or above
Language level: Fluent in English
Fitness level: above average
Interest in Hiking: critical
Alcohol tolerance: can match me drink for drink, or at least allow me to drink as many as I want
Tolerance of me: Allow me to do what I want, knowing that I will be going home with her at the end of evening
World view: Worldly
Conversation topics: Broad and far reaching
etc.

Does a woman like that exist? Yeah, there may be one or two out there in the world, but I am pretty damn sure that neither of them are working in one of the bars in Barretto.

Priorities. What are your priorities? Sounds kind of lame, but the engineer in me says to make a spreadsheet, listing what you want in a companion and how high that particular priority ranks. Find out what is really important. You are not going to check all of the above boxes by looking where you are looking.

Step 1
Increase your desired age range by 20 years. If acceptable, go to step 3. If not, go to Step 2

Step 2
Be a “sugar daddy” and get the girl friend experience that way. Go on a Manila dating website, be brutally honest with what you are looking for.

“Older white male looking for live in companionship. Someone interested in hiking, Netflix, cuddling, dinners out, etc. Must be between 20-30 years old. Physically fit, attractive, no kids, fluent in English. Willing to move to Baretto. Monthly stipend available to the lady I accept.”

I would think you would get a lot of replies. 95% of them may be crap, but you should still have a few to choose from. This can work. I have met guys in Thailand in this type of relationship for a number of years. Seems to work for both of them. You just have to be upfront with expectations/requirements.

Problem solved.
STOP HERE

Step 3
I am sure that there are a lot of single or (more probably) divorced woman who are in their 40’s looking at their future and don’t like what if may hold for them as a single lady.

Go to that same Manila dating website and set up a profile like the following

“White male interested in meeting an educated, well spoken Fillipina. My interests include hiking, Netflix, cuddling, dinners out, in depth conversations etc. Must be between 40-50 years old. Physically fit, attractive, no kids. I am located in Baretto and the right woman should be willing to visit/live here. Lets make some memories!”

Again, I think you will get a number of replies. You are going to have to separate the wheat from the chaff, but it can be done.

Problem Solved
STOP HERE

What are your priorities?

» Posted By Brian On 27/June/2022 @ 8:01 pm