Comments Posted By Brian
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Between a rock and a hard place
Gotta love those ladyboys (well not “love them” in the literal sense, but more in the figurative sense)! Especially in SE Asia, some of them can really fool you.
As always, great pics!
» Posted By Brian On 07/October/2020 @ 8:42 am
Nice. Love that your walks are same-same, but different.
BTW, great sunset pic!!
» Posted By Brian On 04/October/2020 @ 2:56 am
Dont want to bring politics too much into the blog (but here I go!!), but thought I would say that the rhetoric (on both sides) that the world will end if their preferred candidate does not get elected as President seems overblown. I remember Democrats talking about the end of the world when George W. Bush got elected and re-elected. The Republicans thought the same when Barak Obama won two terms. Then it was back to the Democrats talking about how the sky would fall if Donald Trump were elected. None of the above has happened.
You can look at historical data on various economic factors (GDP growth, unemployment, stock returns, %wage growth vs. inflation, etc etc) and on average, there is not a whole lot of difference between Republican and Democratic administrations.
I am an optimist and do believe that people are pretty resilient, regardless of who is President. I think that the President has less direct impact than many believe. Of course, he can influence policy, etc., but alot of it (to me) is mental – in that the President is a cheerleader, and depending upon what tribe you follow, it makes you feel good or makes you upset, but may not impact your life in real terms. The US is becoming a smaller part of the world pie, which means that a lot of external factors can influence what happens in the US, no matter what the US president does.
Honestly, I dont see how my life would have been too much different if there were a Democrat in the White House from 2000 – 2008, a Republican in the White House from 2008 – 2016, and a Democrat from 2016 – 2020. Mentally, I may have thought about things differently, but on a tangible basis, I just dont think there would have been much difference. Pretty sure I would have been with the same company, moved through the same positions, etc.
Though I do have to say that the ACA allowed me to retire at 50 a couple of years ago and allowed me to pick and choose the odd job/consulting gig going forward IF I want them. Without the ACA, there is no way I would have been able to retire.
Just my two cents. (Which will be worth less next year!) LOL
By the way, there is something to be said for enjoying each day as it is. Everything is in the moment. When I was working full time, I never seemed to be caught up. Projects overlapped and there was never a day when I went to sleep at night that there was not something “unfinished” or something that would carry over to the next day/week, etc. Now, there is no “prep” to the day, and no “follow up” either. To me, that is a great feeling!
A virtual “cheers” to that!
» Posted By Brian On 03/October/2020 @ 9:32 am
Well, carne does mean meat, so you did follow the letter of the recipe, if not the spirit.
» Posted By Brian On 01/October/2020 @ 3:30 am
Kevin, I dont have a google account so can’t comment directly on your blog, but did have a couple of comments on trekking poles. I have done some (relatively) long distance hiking/trekking and talked with a number of folks who have done more than I, and to a person, they pretty much swear on having two trekking poles, especially if on trails, hills, etc. If used properly, they can really take a load of your legs. Most of the time walking, your arms re not really doing anything. With trekking poles, you let your arms do some of the work, allowing you to either go longer at the same effort or potentially faster.
I have a pair of Leki Cristallo (go for ~$90 USD for the pair). They are not the highest end pair you can get, but they are pretty good on the price/quality curve.
John, you may want to try using two poles during your hikes. Takes a bit of getting used to, but once you do, they are a big help.
John, sorry to hijack your blog. LOL
Back to your regularly scheduled blog!
» Posted By Brian On 29/September/2020 @ 8:19 am
Kevin, I will follow vicariously as well. Good luck!!
» Posted By Brian On 28/September/2020 @ 7:43 am
Kevin, I will follow you vicariously also!! Good luck!!
» Posted By Brian On 28/September/2020 @ 7:43 am
Great pics. Nice to be so close to nature!!
» Posted By Brian On 27/September/2020 @ 2:14 am
As usual, Kevin nails it. This is not going to work. Judy does not want to break her vows, etc., but does she know you are still married? That is okay with her? It seems that she (and you) are willing to justify things if they are in your favor.
Keep her in the friend zone. If not, I dont see anything good coming of this.
I second (or third) the “getting out of your comfort zone”. You are NOT going to find love (at least the non-transactional type) in your small neck of the woods. Too much drama, too much familiarity among all the participants, no escape route, etc.
As I said in another post, if you need to sow your oats, take a long weekend and go the “big city”, but definitely places further afield from Barreto.
I also recommend getting some business cards printed up that you can hand out locally:
“Hi, you are a nice young lady, but I am NOT INTERESTED in ANY type of physical or financial short term or long term relationship. I am STRICTLY interested in ONLY being friends. We can meet for lunch once in a while, but do not expect anything from me – gifts, money, loans, groceries, etc. If you ask for any of the above, I will immediately cut off all contact with you.
I am only interested in occasional conversation and discussion of world events.
If I break any of the above rules, please IMMEDIATELY cut off all contact with me.”
» Posted By Brian On 24/September/2020 @ 6:49 am
That meal looks good! Hopefully it tasted as good as it looked. LOL
Regarding your pedicurist – I probably would have the same look on my face if that was my job. Funny pic however.
» Posted By Brian On 17/September/2020 @ 3:16 am
Sobering and puts things in perspective.
» Posted By Brian On 12/September/2020 @ 8:13 am
Death is part of the circle of life I guess. Always a bit of a jolt when someone you know (even casually) passes.
Re: David Light – met a few guys like that in Thailand. Priced themselves into a situation that they generally dont like, but unable to change their circumstances. Always bitching about where they lived, the location, the accommodations, the weather, the food, the woman, etc, etc. but did not have the will, opportunity or money to change their lot in life. Kind of sad. (Of course, I dont know if David was like that, but I also can’t imagine someone choosing to live in crappy accommodations if they dont have to)
» Posted By Brian On 10/September/2020 @ 7:56 am
John, I spent about a year in a small town in Indonesia – probably the only westerner in 50 miles or so. I very quickly learned that it was best if I lived the life of a monk while I was there. It was like Cheers (“where everyone knows your name”), but on a town wide scale! LOL
» Posted By Brian On 07/September/2020 @ 2:15 am
Wow! Sounds like high school girls and cattiness and stuff that goes with that.
Just reinforces my thought that nothing good is going to come out of trying to be (or being) in a relationship in your relatively small neck of the woods.
Drama, drama, and more drama. LOL
» Posted By Brian On 06/September/2020 @ 3:48 am
Cool picture of that tree! Really caught my eye
» Posted By Brian On 03/September/2020 @ 12:38 am
What Kevin said!
» Posted By Brian On 30/August/2020 @ 2:02 am
Happy Birthday John. The good news is that since you have made it to age 65, your life expectancy is actually 83+ years!!
» Posted By Brian On 28/August/2020 @ 12:47 pm
More of a rhetorical question, but wondering what some of the COVID numbers mean:
161K positive tests
112K recovered
3K deadSo what about the other 45K who did not die, but did not recover? I wonder what that means – continuing medical problems? That would be a fairly high %; 25% of the people who catch it have continuing problems.
» Posted By Brian On 22/August/2020 @ 11:41 am
John, glad that you are willing to accept honest feedback. However, as Kevin and others have pointed out more adroitly than I; “woads are cheap” (if I can paraphrase and maybe put words in their mouths). LOL
To put the proverbial shoe on the other foot – if you were interested in a girl and thought she was interested in you, but you found out that her ex spent the weekend at her house………….. Or, you found out she took some guy home from the bar for a night?………….. Or?……………… How much confidence would you have in her going forward? So, what do you think J (or others girls) think of you?
You do have some decisions to make. You seem to want your cake and eat it too. In your current life situation, you can’t do both. 🙂
FYI, we have met a couple of times John. You and I shared a beer (or three) a few times at Dolce Vida in Seoul. I am not a dart player, so we didn’t cross paths too often, but I enjoyed our conversations when we did run into each other. I actually found your blog prior to meeting you.
When i first started traveling to Korea, I was searching for a “normal” bar to sit and have a beer, and among other search results, your blog came up. LOL The rest, as they say, is history.
» Posted By Brian On 21/August/2020 @ 5:44 am
Looks pretty cool! The journey can be the fun part, not necessarily the final destination.
» Posted By Brian On 21/August/2020 @ 5:48 am
I am sure you have mentioned this previously, but I have the memory of a goldfish – what is the approximate timing of the rainy season there?
» Posted By Brian On 19/August/2020 @ 4:09 am
Yup, not much to add. Dont see this ending well. People will be hurt, you included.
Honestly, you should probably swear off women in your locale. Too much of a “small town” vibe. Drama everywhere. If you want/need to sow your oats, take a long weekend and go to city XXX (wherever that is) and repeat as needed.
Keep the women in your town at arms length – nothing wrong with being friends but dont let yourself move out of the “friends zone” into something else.
» Posted By Brian On 18/August/2020 @ 4:25 am
LOL i was thinking the same thing Kevin. 😀
» Posted By Brian On 17/August/2020 @ 7:27 am
From your earlier comments on the hash, it seems like it is pretty well run. What were the reasons for the complaints?
» Posted By Brian On 07/August/2020 @ 2:32 am
EDIT: Hope that these lockdown restrictions DO NOT make their way to your next of the woods.
» Posted By Brian On 04/August/2020 @ 4:27 am
John, been reading in the news that part of the PI are reversing and returning to stricter lockdowns.
Hope that these lockdown restrictions make their way to your neck of the woods.
» Posted By Brian On 04/August/2020 @ 4:27 am
Good on ya’ John. Just go down the road slowly.
» Posted By Brian On 01/August/2020 @ 2:50 am
Love (or maybe lust) is blind
» Posted By Brian On 30/July/2020 @ 2:52 am
Kevin, closer to your neck of the woods is the Shikoku Trail in Japan on the island of (d’oh) Shikoku. Connects 88 temples and is around 1000 km in length.
» Posted By Brian On 22/July/2020 @ 4:09 am
«« Back To Stats PageJohn, this too shall pass.
The trail awaits, but not until you are better. Stay strong!
» Posted By Brian On 17/July/2020 @ 8:30 am