Comments Posted By John McCrarey

Displaying 511 To 540 Of 6,593 Comments

I’ll walk, thanks

Kevin, trespassing is situational. I wouldn’t invade someone’s personal fenced-in space, but we were taking the back way into a subdivision in that photo. I wouldn’t have climbed the fence, but then we saw that the bottom bar had been removed and there was a dirt path leading to the street. It seemed to be an unofficial back entrance, so we took it. The guard at the front gate didn’t say anything when we exited.

Yeah, that’s the low and high end of my beer intake range. I’m usually somewhere in the middle.

I didn’t look for onions and don’t recall tasting any, but I’m not onion-averse, so it didn’t matter either way.

Shit, I didn’t think there was going to be a test! Here’s a first glance look at that stupid meme:
(in chronological order)
Don’t capitalize “psychiatrist.”
I’d make three sentences into one: Put a semicolon after “it” and a comma after “scared.”
A comma after “week”
A comma after “it”
A comma after “later”
Don’t capitalize “eighty”
A comma after “visit”
A comma after “year”
Capitalize “And” in the quote

Well, now I have another headache.

» Posted By John McCrarey On 30/January/2026 @ 9:57 am

Kryptonite

Brian, this is my last hurrah, so maybe I’ll finally get it right. Honestly, this banking thing is no big deal. The account is in her name, but I hold the debit card. I only transfer money to the account when I’m going to be withdrawing it from an ATM. So, there’s not much to steal.

I’ve tried and failed to give up on love, and discovered that transactional relationships have their pitfalls, too. It is what it is.

» Posted By John McCrarey On 30/January/2026 @ 10:01 am

There can be no love without trust, Canadian.

» Posted By John McCrarey On 29/January/2026 @ 6:14 pm

Kevin, your comment policy is much stricter than mine, but I’ve started deleting insults and irrelevant comments.

I have a credit card and a debit card from my USA bank. I rarely use the credit card, but the debit card is my access to cash via ATMs. Or it was until Tuesday’s issues.

In the future, I’m going to rely more on the Philippine bank account (in Swan’s name) I’ve been using.

» Posted By John McCrarey On 29/January/2026 @ 10:11 am

Brian, things have faded with time, but I still miss the life I used to have. I was happy until I learned she wasn’t. So, now I have this new life in the PI. It’s different, but I’m glad I am able to live it.

My daughter’s house (my name is on the mortgage) is my USA address for banking and tax purposes. She’ll mail the card to me here. A friend has an FPO address, so I can avoid the PhilPost nightmare.

» Posted By John McCrarey On 29/January/2026 @ 10:04 am

Terry, stupid is as stupid does. It never ceases to amaze me just how loony these lefties are. On Facebook, I posted a photo of some murder victims of illegals we are trying to deport. My friend said, “Now post one of the school kids killed in shootings by white men.” My neck is sore from shaking my head.

» Posted By John McCrarey On 29/January/2026 @ 10:00 am

Thanks, Yvon. I rarely use my card in the PI (most places don’t accept them), but in Vietnam, I used it several times at restaurants so I could avoid frequent ATM withdrawals. I see now that was a mistake. It definitely happened in Vietnam. I’ll be more careful in the future for sure.

» Posted By John McCrarey On 29/January/2026 @ 9:54 am

Hashing my way

Sandy, I’m doing my best. We are in our third year together. As long as she is happy with me, I’ll be satisfied.

» Posted By John McCrarey On 29/January/2026 @ 10:12 am

Kevin, no, there is no schedule conflict with the after-Hash gathering. My issue is getting back down to Barretto from the end of Rizal Extension after the Circle. It’s hard to get a trike from there, and I prefer not to walk on the street in the dark, so I left the Circle early.

The On-Home is where we finish the Hash trail and where we hold the Circle. The after-Hash is an informal gathering of Hashers after the official event concludes. Sorry for the confusion. I should have been clearer about that.

No, I don’t talk to the crazy guy because, well, he’s crazy. I doubt he’d comprehend anything I said to him.

I fucked some bar girls, but never had a dating relationship with any of the bar prostitutes. There were a couple of waitress types I fell for that didn’t work out, but that happens to me with ‘regular” gals too.

» Posted By John McCrarey On 28/January/2026 @ 3:21 pm

Old routines with a new twist

Kevin, so you are saying I’m too old to be Filipino? Okay, then.

Yep, it seems like Frank is living large in the good way.

Yeah, serve the food at the temperature it’s supposed to be. I should have sent it back for a warm-up, but I’ve heard pissing off the cook might not be in your best interests.

At least she’s not irritatingly AI.

Yep, I totally missed the “TMI” punchline. Shame on me!

» Posted By John McCrarey On 27/January/2026 @ 1:36 pm

Sorry for offending you, Steve. I wouldn’t call it a public execution; it was more of a suicide. Law enforcement enforces laws; unlawful protestors who interfere do so at their own risk. Actions have consequences.

» Posted By John McCrarey On 27/January/2026 @ 1:32 pm

Brian, heh, I missed the “too much information” aspect. Now it all makes sense. Thanks!

No, I’ve been back to Pattaya a couple of times for Hash events, but that’s it.

I’ve seen that age gap calculation before. But as you say, in the PI, age is just a number. I choose to identify as a 30-year-old lesbian trapped in a man’s body.

» Posted By John McCrarey On 27/January/2026 @ 1:30 pm

See you in hell, Canadian!

» Posted By John McCrarey On 27/January/2026 @ 1:26 pm

It all feels fresh again

Whatever, Issac. The photo was a joke another commenter left, and I thought it was funny enough to share. I’m a big supporter of Israel and have never said or done anything antisemitic. It seems to me that all your comment shows here is your ignorance.

» Posted By John McCrarey On 26/January/2026 @ 12:06 pm

Kevin, yeah, fifteen days away made things seem fresh when we got home, but fifteen days was a bit too long for the Da Nang area. Should have spent the final three days in Saigon, then we wouldn’t have had to worry about our flight connection.

I don’t think I mentioned Allan on the blog before. He was an Aussie in his late 70s or early 80s. Got the cancer about a year ago and slowly withered away. I saw him briefly before we departed for Vietnam, and he was looking very frail.

Yeah, glad to be getting back into my routine lifestyle. But there will be some tweaks going forward.

» Posted By John McCrarey On 26/January/2026 @ 12:03 pm

Brian, what’s hilarious is that joke about having room for the President is an old one in my repertoire. I started to caption the meme with that tale, but gave up because it is easier said than written. Nice to see it here in the comments today. Thanks for that!

» Posted By John McCrarey On 26/January/2026 @ 11:56 am

Thanks, Greg. I’ve been there a couple of times, and it is quite nice. But I’d still want to show Swan my old stomping grounds in Seoul.

» Posted By John McCrarey On 26/January/2026 @ 11:53 am

Kevin, that reminds me of my first time visiting Jejudo Island. I took my Korean girlfriend with me to provide translation. Out for dinner that first night, and she told me she couldn’t understand what the waitress was saying because of the heavily accented Korean spoken there. I laughed because I remembered something similar when I first moved to Arkansas.

» Posted By John McCrarey On 26/January/2026 @ 11:52 am

Time to rePhil

Kevin, yes, I got lucky. I really appreciate the effort Vietnam Airlines made to get me to my connection on time.

Damn, I fvcked up my own joke. I hate when that happens. Next time, I’ll be more careful when I X it.

» Posted By John McCrarey On 25/January/2026 @ 1:21 pm

Brian, yes, I need to do better at watching the times when I have a connecting flight, especially when it is with another airline. I got lucky this time.

Yeah, I make a bigger deal of the language barrier than I should, but after almost 8 years here in the PI, I’m spoiled. Also, too lazy and/or brain-dead to learn a new language. No, I don’t recall many deep conversations with a Filipino, but it is still nice to have your driver or waiter understand basic English. That wasn’t always the case on this trip.

Probably the best English speaker I encountered in Vietnam was a waitress at Dirty Fingers. If I lived there, I’d try to hire her as my assistant to handle my transactions.

» Posted By John McCrarey On 25/January/2026 @ 1:18 pm

Bori, there may be more Korea in my future, but no specific plans at this time. There is no visa-free entry for Filipinos, so that’s a hurdle since I’d want to bring my girlfriend.

» Posted By John McCrarey On 25/January/2026 @ 1:10 pm

Day fifteen, ending scenes

Kevin, there are worse things than crapping your pants… 🙂

» Posted By John McCrarey On 24/January/2026 @ 6:20 pm

Thanks, Greg. It is like a dream come true seeing that.

» Posted By John McCrarey On 24/January/2026 @ 6:19 pm

Cyclone, nope, not wasting my prayers.

» Posted By John McCrarey On 24/January/2026 @ 6:18 pm

Kevin, I guess I spaced out. That’s just the way itis sometimes.

In my defense, I drank mostly Vietnamese beers and really enjoyed them.

The journey was not free of incident, but I made it home safe and sound. I’ll tell the story of the trip in a post later today.

» Posted By John McCrarey On 24/January/2026 @ 8:51 am

Brian, on my last visit to Pattaya in 2024, I noticed the influx of Indians. Not that there is anything wrong with it. I was surprised by the large number of tourists from India in Da Nang.

» Posted By John McCrarey On 24/January/2026 @ 8:47 am

Marcus, you had it right with the first three words of this comment.

» Posted By John McCrarey On 24/January/2026 @ 8:45 am

Day fourteen, in between

Kevin, I recall sharing some nice meals with you in Itaewon. I understand the vibe there is a lot different these days.

» Posted By John McCrarey On 24/January/2026 @ 8:56 am

Kevin, I never knew Itaewon was crass and tacky. Although I hear it is best avoided on Halloween.

Cows are like human females, they love to be eaten. And it is my pleasure to do so!

I think what I’d miss most if I lived here would be the ability to easily escape the city and enjoy a rural hiking vibe. If that exists here, I didn’t see it. Now, if I lived a ways out of town, like in Hoi An, that urge could be satiated.

Yes, I do that the war memories are generational. Most of the population was born after the war ended. I’ve personally only heard it mentioned once (other than on tours) by a local. He talked about the My Lai massacre and how those responsible were never held accountable. I have a friend who lives in Saigon (HCMC) and I asked him if the older folks have bad feelings towards the Americans in their midst. My friend told me he brought that up with an elderly neighbor who just laughed and said, “why would I be angry? We won.”

» Posted By John McCrarey On 23/January/2026 @ 8:51 am

Scotsman, lots more food options here in Da Nang, quality is similar to back home.

» Posted By John McCrarey On 23/January/2026 @ 8:36 am