Comments Posted By John McCrarey
Displaying 3,001 To 3,030 Of 6,501 Comments
Live and learn. We did better last night.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 10/February/2023 @ 5:41 am
Blood donations in this country seem to be administered in typical Filipino fashion–make it as difficult and inefficient as possible. I’m O+ but in an earlier post, John said they would only accept A- donations. In the comments, someone mentioned being rejected because of age and someone else said he was turned down because of recently ingesting alcohol. Anyway, word is out, and I’m hopeful acceptable donors have now been found. I took Josh to John’s place for dinner last night and also dropped some cash in a donation jar set up there for him.
I honestly don’t know anything about John’s life story or what may have led to his current condition. He strikes me as a very private person, and the fact that he is reaching out for help on social media tells me just how dire his situation truly is.
Thanks for the link on the Biblical history of John Mark. I’d never understood that there was a John Mark in the Gospel story.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 09/February/2023 @ 8:35 am
Yep, that’s Rule #1! And just so you know, I’ve lost a lot more than 300 pesos being scammed before, so don’t let my teasing get to you. It’s just the tuition to the school of experience. Live and learn.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 08/February/2023 @ 9:48 am
Back in the USA, Josh had been a youth minister at a Methodist church, and I believe he was also a substitute teacher in a public school before his accident. I think he already has a master’s in another field too. So yeah, he’s probably overqualified for a hagweon job, but it’s a foot in the door. He wants to live and work overseas, so an international school or university job would be a good fit for him.
Yeah, he knows about the blog but I doubt he reads it regularly.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 08/February/2023 @ 7:41 am
Yeah, that’s a good idea to give him a link to your Jeju walk blog. He’s really looking forward to the adventure.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 07/February/2023 @ 7:09 am
Kev, Josh seems to be enjoying himself thus far. He has signed a contract to teach at a Hagwon in Jeju, so came here for the visa processing. He’s being told 10 days, so we’ll see. At least he likes his 500 pesos per night room!
» Posted By John McCrarey On 07/February/2023 @ 4:16 am
I checked it out, and it looked clean and comfortable. No a/c, but a fan and a small television. Josh says he’s paid more for a mattress pad on a floor, so he’s content.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 07/February/2023 @ 10:04 am
Yes, there are some strange names. Even names that are pronounced similarly are spelled in crazy ways sometimes. I also laugh when I see my name spelled Jhon.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 06/February/2023 @ 6:48 am
I have a driver. We have now successfully completed the mission of extracting the nephew.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 06/February/2023 @ 6:47 am
Jeremy, for 20 years, I stupidly engaged in the cigarette smoking habit. By the time I wised up, the damage was done. I’m not sure why I’m having the current flare-up of my chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but hopefully, it doesn’t get worse.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 05/February/2023 @ 6:17 am
“is it fun to drink to the point of forgetting the previous night?”
No, quite the opposite. I like to find that sweet spot where I let go of some inhibitions but remain in control. Getting so drunk I can’t function is something I try hard to avoid. That’s why the memory thing was so surprising. I mean, there are occasions when I’ve stepped over the line and had one too many, but not being able to remember doing so is a little scary.
It was easier to self-monitor/control with beer. Gin seems to sneak up on you–instead of knowing when to say when, you find yourself saying, “what?”. Anyway, everything in moderation. I enjoy the social aspects of drinking, but overdosing defeats the purpose.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 05/February/2023 @ 6:12 am
Well, she knows I’m taking the pics, but I’ve never mentioned my blog to her. I don’t share those photos on Facebook, though, so I think her anonymity is relatively safe. If she ever asked me to not post her photos here, I’d stop.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 05/February/2023 @ 6:35 am
Yeah, I won’t be back there, lots of other options I haven’t tried yet.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 04/February/2023 @ 6:57 am
Thanks, Dan. Every little bit helps. And your wish is my commend! 🙂
» Posted By John McCrarey On 03/February/2023 @ 6:54 am
That “road” thing is scary and happening with increasing frequency–you should see the mistakes I catch BEFORE hitting the “publish” button. For whatever reason, I rote it wrong and read write over it. (Sorry, couldn’t help myself)
And thanks for the hyphen lesson; I never really knew the rules for that, and your examples made it much clearer. The challenge will be finding new ways to screw-up. (yeah, that’s me being funny again)
Walking that plank wasn’t so bad because the consequences of failure were minimal. Had the bridge been higher above the water I’d have taken the wet feet option.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 03/February/2023 @ 6:51 am
Dan, I just asked ChatGPT if it is wrong to cavort with prostitutes. As the answer began to be displayed (the first line said it was not right to have sex for money), the answer and my question were flagged with: “This content may violate our content policy. If you believe this to be in error, please submit your feedback — your input will aid our research in this area.”
Another example of how worthless this AI program really is–it doesn’t want to engage in real world issues.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 02/February/2023 @ 7:11 am
QP, I’ll let her know you’re cumming!
» Posted By John McCrarey On 02/February/2023 @ 7:05 am
Kev, guilty as charged re: the dangling modifier. I think that’s the first time I’ve been called out for that offense. My excuse is that I was focused on getting my commas right. I’ll try and do better in the future. I enjoyed the lesson and the examples you provided. Thanks!
Wow, ChatGPT has lost all credibility with me now. It is one thing to use “nice” words (i.e. server versus waitress), but to distort facts and deny reality is blatant propaganda. No thanks!
I could see myself sitting on the beach contemplating nature…with an ice chest of beer next to me!
» Posted By John McCrarey On 02/February/2023 @ 7:00 am
Nice to see you back, Robert. No worries, I’m no Brit, although I’ve got some Scottish lineage.
As for the photos, I just ask the girl if she minds my taking a picture. They almost always agree, sometimes with the caveat that I don’t share it on Facebook. Some bars don’t allow photography, but most don’t care, especially if you are limiting the shots to people at your table. I wish I were more skilled with the camera, but as long as the beauty shines through, mission accomplished!
The exotic girl, Tanya, no longer comes to the Hash (her sponsor has moved on to someone else), but I believe she still works at Blue Butterfly, a bar I rarely visit. I’ll try and pop in for a visit and photo with her soon.
Yeah, that Sweatcoin sounds like a scam, but I’m not sure how they make their money. I’m certainly not going to give them any of mine. We’ll see what happens.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 02/February/2023 @ 6:47 am
It was a burger slider. I should have been more diligent about taking some photos of the food.
The snakes I’ve seen were here in Alta Vista, so yeah, that’s disconcerting. And think we make enough noise when hiking to scare them off before we get too close, and that works for me.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 01/February/2023 @ 6:23 am
Mama walks her own path in life, that’s for sure. Still, I was surprised to see her revert to her past life as a bargirl and want to come home with me. The thought of that kind of intimacy makes me shudder–I see her as a sweet old woman who is a little off in the head and nothing more. I don’t think she took my rejection to heart, though, and she’ll be her same happy self the next time I see her.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 31/January/2023 @ 6:43 am
Brian, that was pretty funny! Truthfully, listening to Trump gets on my nerves–he’d be better off shutting up some and letting his actions tell the story. That’s not his style, though. Anyway, I’m glad Mr. Trump is not a regular commenter here! 🙂
» Posted By John McCrarey On 31/January/2023 @ 6:30 am
I was at Sloppy Joe’s for one drink and wearing a faded orange shirt. Yes, I do tend to focus on my phone too much when I am sitting by myself. I don’t have a group of regular drinking buds, so I’m more often alone than not–that’s why I frequently purchase the company of a bargirl with lady drinks.
Ah, but I no longer wear glasses–either it wasn’t me, or it is YOU who needs glasses! Feel free to introduce yourself next you see me, it’s always a treat to meet a reader.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 31/January/2023 @ 6:37 am
Kevin, I’ve always enjoyed writing, even if I’m not that good at it. Short stories and poetry as a young man, with dreams of one day becoming a journalist. I wound up writing discipline letters and briefs for arbitration hearings in the service of my Uncle Sam. Long Time Gone is a failure’s revenge!
» Posted By John McCrarey On 30/January/2023 @ 12:31 pm
Jezza, glad you spotted the AI tag clue!
Yeah, the AI made up that “favorite bar” line; all I said was that BarCelona has nice ambiance. To be fair, I did get good service there on my last visit. The other parts, like names, were true, but some descriptions were off–I called Juliet sexy, not “lovely.”
Yeah, I saw that post about the police in Manila shaking down the same driver THREE times in ONE day. I’m not sure AI could make that sound any more believable. I don’t think ChatGPT actually visits locations on the web, just has access to a huge data pool.
We weren’t talking about anyone local, just the young and healthy athletes around the world who are dropping dead for mysterious reasons. And I’m no Trumper, but he was a better choice than Hillary (who you gonna take, the crook or the clown?) and was a much better President than that guy who is currently pretending to be. I’m hoping for DeSantis in 2024.
I spent a lot of years in the south but didn’t acquire the accent. Well, I’ll drop a “y’all” now and then, but without a twang.
You ought to sign up for ChatGPT and give it a try while it is free. I’ve heard it can write stories, so don’t miss your chance for the best diving novel ever published!
» Posted By John McCrarey On 30/January/2023 @ 7:49 am
Kev, yes, I had to provide the background story, and the ChatGPT app chose some of my words and tweaked others. But they weren’t pure “McCrareyisms.” For example, I never said they were my favorite bars, only that BarCelona has a nice ambiance, I didn’t call Juliet “lovely”; I said she was sexy, and I don’t call waitresses “servers.” I do get your larger point that it sounded enough like me to fool readers into thinking I wrote it. Yeah, it would be an interesting test to have ChatGPT write an entirely fictional post about me and see if it was plausibly believable. I’m not sure it would be capable of doing so–yet.
Grammarly dinged you in a different way: which is not safe and is illegal in many countries–changing “not safe and is” to “unsafe and”: which is unsafe and illegal in many countries.
I accept Grammarly’s punctuation corrections most of the time, but I seldom use the suggested changes to my word choices. I’m not saying the suggestions are bad, just that I prefer writing in my own way using my “voice.” I feel the same with ChatGPT.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 30/January/2023 @ 7:23 am
Jeremy, be sure to see the latest post for an update.
The actual name of the bar is It Doesn’t Matter, but we all call it IDM. Once I had a lady friend text asking me where I was, when I told her “It Doesn’t Matter” she got angry. 🙂
I have concluded that that sleeping on the couch must have been a dream. It makes no sense.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 29/January/2023 @ 5:34 pm
Kev, I don’t know what’s up with my camera–I’ve noticed that distorted effect in other photos too. She’s got a little paunch in her midsection (who am I to talk, right?) but is far from obese. Her not remembering my name just shows I don’t matter to her other than as a purchaser of lady drinks. Yes, I’ve noted the similarity in names, but that’s about the only thing those two have in common.
Yeah, those captcha images can be a real bitch. Your blog used to torture me frequently when I left a comment, but almost never these days.
Thanks for the links on smoke and beef (hey, that could be a good restaurant name!) I’ll give them a look.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 29/January/2023 @ 7:47 am
Oh, shit. I hadn’t thought of that! I don’t think it would be capable of taking photos on the hikes and pictures of the bargirls, though…
» Posted By John McCrarey On 28/January/2023 @ 5:51 pm
«« Back To Stats PageDan, I did not tell them. When someone commented, I let them know I didn’t write it.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 28/January/2023 @ 3:08 pm