Comments Posted By Brian
Displaying 1,021 To 1,050 Of 1,055 Comments
Keep your chin up!
» Posted By Brian On 18/January/2019 @ 1:44 am
John,
The other thing I was thinking was good old fashioned word of mouth. Are you friends/acquaintances with other people in the subdivision? Maybe they have an idea (or maybe on of their workers (housekeeper, gardener, maintenance, etc)), does.
» Posted By Brian On 18/January/2019 @ 1:21 am
I was going to suggest orienteering, but I see that Kevin beat me to it. I ran X-country in college and we used to orienteer to vary the workouts. Lots of fun.
» Posted By Brian On 18/January/2019 @ 1:05 am
John – enjoy the blog and your perspective on life in Korea, the Philippines, and just in general. LOL
We met a couple of time in Dolce Vida in Seoul and shared a few beers.
If I ever make it to the Philippines, we will have to share a few more. 🙂
Again, keep rolling!
» Posted By Brian On 15/January/2019 @ 1:01 pm
Great pictures!! Specially the ones taking at sunrise. Looks like it was a great trip
» Posted By Brian On 13/November/2018 @ 1:46 pm
With the dating sites, I think you have to take a long view. After a while, you will start to see which ones are for real, and which are out to scam you. I recommend chatting with them on line for a while, rather than immediately setting up a face to face. Those that are looking to scam you will probably lose patience and drop contact. Whether you are or not, mention early on that you are not rich (in an offhand way). If someone is really interested, they will continue to maintain contact.
Not sure how the sites work, but probably worth it to spend the $100(?) or so for a yearly premium membership.
Red flags (at least to me)
multiple pictures of them in bars
tattoos
pictures in fancy hotel rooms
on line in the early hours of the morning
nothing but pictures of them in a swimsuit, or “barely there” clothingAny of the above will be enough for me to “take care”.
Also, look at girls in Manila. I realize that the distance may be a problem, but with the larger population base, a larger base of “real” girls.
Anyways, just some random thoughts. Good luck!!
» Posted By Brian On 29/October/2018 @ 8:08 am
Your snail pic reminded my of a snail joke
Two turtles get into an accident at an intersection.
The only witness is a snail. The policeman asks the snail what happened.
“I don’t know. It all happened so fast!!!”badda bing!
» Posted By Brian On 11/September/2018 @ 3:39 am
Happy belated birthday also!!! Here is to many more!
» Posted By Brian On 11/September/2018 @ 3:28 am
LOL I remember seeing the Korean version of that movie on one of my many plane rides between the US — ROK.
I may have to watch the Phillipino version for the heck of it.
» Posted By Brian On 11/September/2018 @ 3:13 am
That rain is just crazy! Did not realize that the rainy season in the Philippines was like that, but it does sound like this year is somewhat unusual.
I remember walking in Seoul one time after a typhoon blew through and the destruction (esp in the hills out of town) was pretty amazing.
Good luck on getting everything restored and sounds like you made the right choice in getting a house at the top of the hill!!
» Posted By Brian On 25/July/2018 @ 4:38 am
Hope you find him. Doesn’t seem to have the typical street dog look, so may be easier to track down.
» Posted By Brian On 30/June/2018 @ 11:23 am
John, I assume that on the hash map, green is on the way out and blue is on the way back?
Is there a “hash leader” who sets each weeks hash or does it rotate among the members? Just curious. 🙂
» Posted By Brian On 30/June/2018 @ 11:14 am
I kind of agree with Kevin. Not sure I would want someone living there full time unless they were invited by me.
Why can’t they move into the servants quarters of the original house?
» Posted By Brian On 19/June/2018 @ 4:09 am
On the bright side, with all of the rain, you should get a good indication if your house will have any flooding problems. Any issues so far?
» Posted By Brian On 14/June/2018 @ 2:56 am
Noticed your comment about getting a helper. My recommendation would be to get a married female for days only. I think that would go a long way to eliminating any present or future issues. I did something similar when I was in Indonesia (though I was also living with a male co-worker). Our housekeeper would go to the market in the morning, get food for the day, cook lunch, clean, etc., and then prepare dinner before she left for the day. She was happy – she knew there there were no expectations other than doing her job, and we felt the same.
» Posted By Brian On 14/June/2018 @ 2:44 am
When traveling and getting a dose of the “walk fasts” (not quite the runs, LOL), I will eat nothing but rice and water for a day or two. Usually seems to work for me, but if it is something that requires antibiotics, it may not be the best method.
» Posted By Brian On 26/May/2018 @ 5:17 am
Good luck! Looks like a nice place. You may have mentioned it in another post, but curious as to why you decided to go with a house as opposed to a condo that would have a pool(?), gym(?), etc on site. Assuming you don’t want/need any of those things right at your doorstep? What type of condo could you get for $900/month?
Utilities included? Electric pretty reasonable as I would think that A/C would be needed year round.
Sorry for the questions but looking at the future. LOL Leaning towards Thailand as I have been working in and out of Thailand for a number of years, but the Philippines is a possible alternative.
» Posted By Brian On 26/May/2018 @ 5:12 am
Looks pretty nice as an opening base to get your feet wet.
Agree with the comment about only renting – that is definitely the way to go!!
Good luck with the search for more permanent housing.
» Posted By Brian On 19/May/2018 @ 6:21 am
A person wants to make sure that they are retiring TO something, not retiring FROM something.
Seems as though you are doing a bit of both at this point. Focus on the path forward, not the one behind. Good luck as you move forward!!
» Posted By Brian On 10/May/2018 @ 1:01 am
If you need a helper, don’t rule out getting a “day” helper. When i was living in Indonesia, I had a married lady that came in the mornings (usually about the time I left for work), went to the market, made lunch, any small errands. did the cleaning/washing, and made dinner before she left.
Worked out well. She was married, had a family so no issues or any concerns there. She was happy that it was a “9-5” job with no other expectations.
Something to think about.
» Posted By Brian On 10/May/2018 @ 12:56 am
Leaving is always tough. Lots of good memories and those are the things to hold on to. Should make you feel good that so many people came to wish you farewell and safe travels!!
» Posted By Brian On 10/May/2018 @ 12:47 am
John, as you alluded to, it may be that some of the meds are seemingly causing you to take other meds. It can be a slippery slope. I am not saying to completely stop taking medications, but maybe you can talk with the docs before you leave about doing a controlled elimination of some of the medications.
You may find that getting rid of one may allow you to get rid of a couple more.
I am always a bit skeptical about high blood pressure meds. I know a couple of people who were on them – stopped taking them and their blood pressure was okay (or maybe was never high to begin with, but testing technique, nerves, etc.) gave false readings.
Just some thoughts.
» Posted By Brian On 25/February/2018 @ 6:29 am
Re: Filipina bartender. Be up front with her – let her know you are just just looking for some good conversation outside of a bar setting. Invite her for a coffee – seems less formal than dinner and if you go your separate ways after 20-30 minutes, not big deal.
Re: cartoon – true dat!
» Posted By Brian On 07/January/2018 @ 6:14 am
Always loved the upper deck of the 747’s. Like being in your own (semi) private airplane
Good luck on the upcoming move. Have never been to PI, so am following along to see how you like it there compared to Korean and other places you have scoped out (i.e. thailand).
» Posted By Brian On 07/January/2018 @ 6:09 am
Keep a positive 2018!!!!! As you mentioned in an earlier post, worry about the things you can control.
» Posted By Brian On 07/January/2018 @ 6:04 am
Walk slowly John.
Good luck on this next journey!!
» Posted By Brian On 29/December/2017 @ 2:18 am
On the vaping thing – not sure if it is the bar’s fault or not. Most places in Thailand and the US do not allow vaping when smoking is also prohibited. Rightly or wrongly, vaping = smoking in the eyes of the law. Korea may be different.
» Posted By Brian On 16/December/2017 @ 1:11 pm
Awesome job! (and Happy Thanksgiving)
» Posted By Brian On 23/November/2017 @ 10:48 pm
Yup – friend zone is the place to be for the time being. 🙂
No expectations, no pressure, no heartache.
» Posted By Brian On 23/November/2017 @ 10:41 pm
«« Back To Stats PageYup, the dating websites can be full of the wrong type of love. You are correct – patience is the key. After a while, you can recognize who are educated, who are gold diggers, etc. While not perfect, it at least puts you many steps ahead of those that go into it blindly. That is my impression on teh Thai sites, which I assume are similar to the Filipino sites. I always try and set up a meet over a just a cup of coffee. Worst case, I waste 30 minutes of my time (they may think they are wasting their time after meeting me) and the cost of a couple of cups of coffee.
» Posted By Brian On 15/November/2017 @ 9:29 pm