Comments Posted By John McCrarey
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I’m just too unmotivated to carve out the hour for darts practice. I’ve got my routines…morning coffee with internet, dog walk, my morning walk, more internet, nap, afternoon walk, shower. Going to the bars was usually next up, so I guess there’s a gap to be filled. Now it’s Game of Thrones.
The old man’s place used to be a little nicer. A few months before he died the roof collapsed. Some people I assume were family came out and used the materials from the back half of the place to rebuild the front. And he just kept on doing what he always did…sitting there staring off into space. Maybe looking back on a lifetime of memories. Always made me sad but in true Filipino fashion he appeared accepting of his lot in life. I brought him cookies once shortly before he passed. Damn! I hope he wasn’t diabetic!
» Posted By John McCrarey On 27/May/2020 @ 7:03 am
HaHa! Caught that cheating bitch!
» Posted By John McCrarey On 25/May/2020 @ 9:01 pm
Well, we are going to be doing most of the Hash today on My Bitch, so I don’t expect there to be many issues with wetness up there.
I think the big difference coming for Barretto will be the nature of the tourist trade. Less foreigners, more Filipino families. I can deal with that I think. The go-go bars that cater to sex tourists aren’t my thing anyway. A couple of nice pubs and some places to play darts and I’ll be just fine I reckon.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 25/May/2020 @ 7:40 am
Heh, our last comments were written at the same time and posted a minute apart. Yeah, episode 3 is next up!
» Posted By John McCrarey On 24/May/2020 @ 7:28 am
No, not familiar with the meme at all. I did get far enough into season 6 to see the resurrection, no idea what happens next. I’ll wait a few more episodes before looking for Olly…
» Posted By John McCrarey On 24/May/2020 @ 3:37 am
Well said, Kevin. I was thinking as this stranger was nursing Scott’s wounds that using her own medicine was a real sacrifice. Generosity defined! And yeah, I was lamenting the lack of a breeze on the uphill portion but we were welcomed on the other side of the mountain with a sweet and refreshing breeze…a breath of fresh air as it were.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 23/May/2020 @ 7:14 am
Well, the pasta on the bottom was crunchy, so maybe that’s how they do it on Alpha Centauri. Heh, I should leave a review saying the lasagna was out of this world!
Yeah, I do have a goal to post something here daily but I don’t always achieve it. Monday the Hash started at noon and I was too inebriated to write by the time I got home. Saturday just sorta slipped away and then Game of Thornes grabbed me. But, it is nice that you noticed my absence. Thanks for that!
» Posted By John McCrarey On 22/May/2020 @ 7:33 am
Soju: Well, if Sammy don’t like me being the Philippines version, he can come over here and try and stop me. Oh, wait. He can’t!
I’ve yet to find any peace in love!
» Posted By John McCrarey On 22/May/2020 @ 7:45 am
Thanks for the definition clarification, Kevin. I always thought the tricolon was: that’s life, that’s war, that’s surrender. (Sorry, couldn’t resist).
Dan, what’s life without celery?
» Posted By John McCrarey On 21/May/2020 @ 7:16 am
Well, I’m three episodes into season 5 now and even before reading your comment the show seemed to have a different “feel” somehow. A big emphasis on religion right now too. Anyway, I’m just along for the ride but I can see that I’ll need to read the books if and when Martin gets around to finishing his work. I can’t imagine how disappointed and pissed I’d be if Tolkien had stopped halfway through the Return of the King.
Yeah, I read about the gym incident, good on them! I think the Dems and the press (but I repeat myself) are hoping to pin all this crap on Trump, but I think they will fail. Should be interesting to watch it play out.
Filipinos, for the most part, don’t openly defy authority with protests and demonstrations but I’ve noticed more and more people ignoring the quarantine mandates these days. Perhaps the powers that be will realize there is nothing to be gained by continuing this madness.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 20/May/2020 @ 7:44 am
Dan, if it makes you feel better I probably did pick my nose during the meal… 🙂
» Posted By John McCrarey On 19/May/2020 @ 7:13 am
Brian, the landlord is in Manila and not all that responsive in the best of times. I pay my rent a year in advance so I guess they don’t need to be responsive. For something major and expensive I think we could work out an arrangement, probably deducting from next year’s rent. Hopefully, I won’t have to find out anytime soon!
Jerry, hope I’m still going strong like your neighbor at 79!
» Posted By John McCrarey On 18/May/2020 @ 7:16 am
If things were always peachy, what would I have to blog about?
» Posted By John McCrarey On 16/May/2020 @ 7:36 am
Ha! I had to Google Reverend Spooner. So, I’ve met my learning something new quota for the day!
Yeah, I took your meaning in the response to Mike’s question. I certainly didn’t take it in any personal way, just offering my perspective. What I’d really like to do someday is sponsor a worthy student in a college or trade school program. Sure, people have to eat, but education leading to employment is making a real difference in someone’s life. I’m not sure if I mentioned it on the blog but I was considering a friend’s daughter as a potential tuition recipient when she finished high school. Then she got pregnant at 17. And the cycle of poverty continues!
Well then, I’ll try and enjoy Ambo putting the squeeze on me this weekend!
» Posted By John McCrarey On 15/May/2020 @ 7:46 am
Yeah, even my shorts were soaked with sweat–it looked like I peed myself. It’s been unusually hot this year but rainy season is right around the corner. Supposed to rain tomorrow in fact.
No, I left the Joker behind. You know the old saw: take only pictures, leave only footprints. Funny story though, as Jim was trying to find an actual path on our descent he would periodically say “I think this is a trail…” It can be hard to tell sometimes when a trail is little used and covered in leaves. But a tell-tell giveaway for me is that when you are on the trail you ALWAYS know it by this: “Nope, I haven’t seen any litter, this can’t be it!”
» Posted By John McCrarey On 14/May/2020 @ 7:52 am
Yeah, I admit that Fitbit has really sucked me in. But geez, I must be halfway to the moon by now and I’m looking forward to earning the badge! Honestly though, I can’t defend the quality and longevity of this product. I’m not sure where to take my future business, maybe Garmin.
The loosening of the quarantine doesn’t change much but it’s progress at least. We’ll see what happens on May 30.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 13/May/2020 @ 7:44 am
Thanks, guys. Life is what you make of it I suppose. How’s that old song go? “the things that I complain about are things I could be changing…”
» Posted By John McCrarey On 12/May/2020 @ 4:15 pm
I would if I could but I can’t so I won’t
Yes, that pretty much nails the conditions here and I share his sentiments as to how pointless this has been and also the long term consequences to the economy.
We will hopefully be downgraded to “general community quarantine” status on Friday, but that is nowhere near normal. Some people can work, some public transport will become available, but most other restrictions remain in place. Barretto is basically a tourist town for foreigners. With no sign the travel restrictions will be lifted in the near future; the hotels, bars, and restaurants that cater to this crowd are in deep trouble. Not enough expats here to support them. I’ve already heard of some bars that won’t ever reopen.
We’ve had 12 cases in more than two months and no fatalities in my province. It is time to move on.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 11/May/2020 @ 7:50 am
Damn, ferme ta gueule is what I thought and intended all these years. That’s what I get for being such a dunce (and no, I didn’t just spell douche wrong!).
Honestly, I don’t know why I’m such a Fitbit fan. Thinking back on it now it does seem having to replace one is an annual event. If I don’t have better luck with the latest iteration I’ll start looking for a new brand.
I’ve lost the tan line on both wrists now, so there’s that.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 09/May/2020 @ 6:46 am
Well, I’m glad I’ll be able to relax until season 8 then!
» Posted By John McCrarey On 08/May/2020 @ 7:39 am
Thanks, Brian. Interesting perspectives. I’m not necessarily opposed to all aspects of the lockdown, just that some of them are ridiculous, have nothing to do with thwarting the virus, and may in fact be counterproductive. And of course, in a country like the Philippines with no real social safety net, actual people are actually starving. Killing them that way has the same economic impact as the virus I would assume.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 07/May/2020 @ 10:08 am
Kev, Prager brings some much needed common sense perspectives to the dialogue, that’s for sure.
Jerry, Yeah, I’d be vary wary of a mother and her cub! I am glad to see Colorado moving forward with letting people get on with their lives. Interestingly, your governor is not taking the criticism from the media that the governor of Georgia has been getting. Wonder what the difference is? Oh wait, your guy has a (D) after his name. Never mind.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 07/May/2020 @ 6:45 am
Odd that I’ve never read any of the books. With Lord of the Rings, I’d read them several times (including out loud to my future wife #3) before the movies were even made. Pat Conroy became one of my favorite authors AFTER I saw The Prince of Tides in the movie theatre. I wanted to see how close the movie adhered to the book and I was really surprised how much had been left out of the story on the big screen. So yeah, I can imagine you guys are really growing impatient waiting for Martin to finish his story his way!
I saw a lot of Breaking Bad but not how it ended. A friend here is watching Better Call Saul now and says that’s good too.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 05/May/2020 @ 7:53 am
The best of all possible worlds
More like Filipino incompetence. The local governments do what they please in defiance of the national government directives with impunity. Corruption is rife and the barangay captains are more power-mad than a feudal lord. It would be almost funny if it wasn’t so detrimental to the suffering Filipino people.
2NAD is more than enough for me!
» Posted By John McCrarey On 03/May/2020 @ 7:50 am
“So there’s a perverse sort of silver lining, I guess….”
Kev, are you talking about my neighbor Catherine? I guess I could invite her over during lockdown. Then I could do a post to keep Rascal happy!Good to hear from you, Frank. Yeah, I’ve been watching what’s going on back there from a distance. In a selfish way, it is comforting to know I wouldn’t be much better off back in the USA. Like you, what drives me crazy is the non-sensical nature of many of these decrees. More and more people seem to be reaching the conclusion that this has all been overhyped fear-mongering.
Rascal, sounds like you are looking on the bright side and yes it could always be worse. Never heard back from Gam Gam, so we’ll just have to wait and see what happens next time I pass by that way.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 01/May/2020 @ 7:59 am
Heh, of course, I had to look up the meaning of “memento mori”. Now I’ll remember it until my dying day.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 28/April/2020 @ 6:33 am
Yeah, I already considered the implications of that…I’ll have to wait in line with all those young people!
» Posted By John McCrarey On 29/April/2020 @ 7:18 am
Kev. Although you made my brain hurt again.
After a couple of hours on trail, I feel like a zombie most days. And I hadn’t even noticed Lucky in that photograph before. Turned his head AND closed his eyes. What did he see that was so disgusting I wonder? I’ll keep my eyes out for the chimichurri but I’ll be surprised if anyone carries it here. Thanks for the heads-up!
Terry, totally agree. I remember when I heard about how penicillin was discovered I was like who would even think of trying that? And if that guy hadn’t sailed the ocean blue back then India would be on the other side of the world!
» Posted By John McCrarey On 27/April/2020 @ 7:52 am
What really irks me is to be paying a monthly fee for Amazon Prime and then to discover that most of their content is not available (without additional charges) in my country. So yeah, I need to find a better option it looks like. For now, I’ll probably just do Burn Notice on my computer with the VPN.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 26/April/2020 @ 7:41 am
«« Back To Stats PageThere’s a line between stingy and stupid, paying 25 bucks per season crosses that line for me. I’m not sure how a VPN would work on the Smart TV. I can barely navigate getting to the movies. I have a VPN on my laptop, I’ll see if I can score Burn Notice that way.’
Yeah, that was probably 25% more than I usually pay for my meat at Brettos, but still a pretty good deal actually.
I’m so far behind on movies I’ve never even heard of most of them, including Contagion. The current situation is what led me to watch it. Apparently lots of others too. I saw on Wikipedia that it has been one of the most-watched movies on Netflix since January. And as I said in my post, eerily prescient.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 25/April/2020 @ 7:48 am