Comments Posted By John McCrarey
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Brian, I don’t remember that Green Day song. I’ll give it a listen as time permits.
Yeah, your panda joke is better!
A laundry shouldn’t be hard, but Swan says she can do it too, so I’m covered.
Yeah, I stole the line from Joni Mitchell, but I’ve used the song before, so…
» Posted By John McCrarey On 08/January/2026 @ 6:35 am
Trapper, thanks for the clarification. The guy I’m traveling with also has no date on his visa, so it seems that it is more of a “fill in the blank” thing for immigration upon arrival.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 07/January/2026 @ 3:44 pm
Kevin, well, I’m a boomer, and as you know, I’m commatose. Back in my youth, I’d get distressed about my girlfriend having a monthly period.
I’m not sure if this is his first trip or not, but I did find out his name is Kevin. What are the odds? He got sorer as the night went on, but at least nothing was broken.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 07/January/2026 @ 3:42 pm
Brian, the two other people he was walking with saw the bike and stopped, but he didn’t. So, in that sense, he is at fault. Those who witnessed the accident said the bike had plenty of room (no one coming in the other direction) to swerve around him, but made no effort to do so. At the hospital, the police asked the Hasher whether he wanted to pursue charges, and he declined. The biker thanked him profusely. So, I’d say both were at fault.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 07/January/2026 @ 3:39 pm
Kevin, yes, it has been sad watching John’s place whither away. I was surprised when the maintained the food quality level, but the dearth of customers apparently doesn’t cover expenses. The staff we talk to doesn’t seem to know what is going to happen. Some say the owner (John’s widow) is looking for a less expensive venue. Good luck with that. I expect the shutdown is imminent. I’ll be surprised if they are still open when I return from Vietnam.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 06/January/2026 @ 9:58 am
Kevin, see my response to Greg’s comment for what the visa service told me. I’ll have to trust that they are correct that immigration will fill in the blank upon my arrival.
I deleted the visa photo to protect my privacy. Thanks for the heads up on that.
I have a printer at home, but I only used once or twice a year. When it malfunctioned, I decided it was easier to visit the print shop on the rare occasions that I need a copy.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 06/January/2026 @ 9:54 am
Greg, Thanks for the heads up on potential visa issues. I contacted the online service I used and they told me:
No, this should not be a problem. The validity of your e-visa typically refers to the period during which you can enter the country. Once you arrive, the immigration officers will determine the length of your stay and note it in your passport. As long as you adhere to the authorized stay period provided by immigration upon arrival, you should be fine.
So, as things stand now, my visa has the correct arrival date and the “valid until” date is blank. I’ll have to trust that immigration upon arrival will give me the appropriate approval to stay for the duration of my trip. Otherwise I’m fucked.
I deleted the photo of the visa to protect my privacy. Thanks for that reminder as well.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 06/January/2026 @ 9:50 am
Kevin, you get what you pay for…smaller portions at Jewel and lower prices. I’d rather go large and spend more.
Thanks for the bulgogi recipe video…sending it to Swan now.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 05/January/2026 @ 11:47 am
Brian, I live large, and I am not all that price-conscious. That said, I know the imported stuff I buy at Royal supermarket has gone WAY up. Some things I won’t even buy anymore. Jewel has small portions and lower prices on their meals. Sit-n-Bull serves Western-sized portions, and you pay a premium for them. It is what it is, and I’m not losing sleep over it.
Some trikes are smaller than others, and getting in and out for me can be challenging. Once inside, I have to deal with my head hitting the ceiling every time there is a bump in the road.
Well, installing the legitimately elected president there would be a wise move. Or that opposition leader who had to flee for her life, but won the Nobel Prize for her efforts would be good.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 05/January/2026 @ 11:45 am
Koko, yes, I was thinking those young ones most likely died in some kind of accident. Sad to lose life so young.
Enjoy your new year and stay safe!
» Posted By John McCrarey On 05/January/2026 @ 11:16 am
Kevin, sorry for the confusion my ramblings created. The “do-over” thing started as my thinking about what the ideal heaven for me would be. I liked the concept of reliving my life better than an eternity in that pearly-gated place I read about. But as you pointed out, a do-over isn’t really changing anything if you just repeat the same mistakes for eternity. What I really want is to go back and live a different life, choosing paths I didn’t take in this one. So, it is not so much a do-over as it is a second chance. Anyway, none of it makes sense, and the concept wouldn’t work without changing the lives of everyone I encounter. Maybe in a Matrix or multi-verse, but it’s still a bullshit idea.
It is not a matter of my not being content with who I am. To be honest about it, what I want is to be young again. I’m struggling with the limitations that come with being elderly. It really is as simple as that.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 04/January/2026 @ 4:23 pm
Damn, I even got the comma MEME wrong. But I repeat myself. Anyway, it is funny that I first used that meme in a post called “A Tuesday to forget,” then repeated three days later. I guess it was a forgetful Friday.
Yes, there is no denying that I’m on a downward trajectory when it comes to brain power. But I don’t care what they say about you, Kevin! I’ll just count my blessings that you won’t be attending to me in the nursing home. I’m sure they’ll have a hot young Filipina for that duty!
Beached boats on a bed of litter authenticate that this is indeed the Philippines.
The beach at Mango’s with a busier than usual holiday crowd.
It would have been better to write it as: The beach at Mango’s was busier than usual with a holiday crowd. Does that fix it?I think calling my dream for the afterlife a “do-over” is a mistake. My fantasy is to more about wanting to relive my life. For example, if I could go back to the 1970’s, I’d enlist in the Army after graduating from high school. That would be the beginning of an entirely different life than the one I’ve lived. Yeah, I’m sure I’d fuck things up along the way, but hopefully in new and interesting ways. Oh, and I’d be sure and buy some Microsoft shares at their IPO.
Thanks for the tips on making whipped cream, but these days, I prefer a heaping scoop of ice cream on my pie. That pumpkin pie alternative sounds interesting, though. I will definitely share those links with Swan, who has much better kitchen skills than I do.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 04/January/2026 @ 9:01 am
Kevin, I’ll save that recipe for next time I’m hungover. I’ll have Swan do the cooking though.
Yep, Vitaly is screwed, likely in more ways than one.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 03/January/2026 @ 9:29 am
Brian, I’ve been to Bali (and loved it) but never Indonesia proper, so make it 100% for me.
Yeah, marketing isn’t a strong point for the Philippine Tourist Agency. It was so shocking to see all the young European tourists during my visit to Siargao. Most of them were apparently there for the surfing, so maybe it was word-of-mouth advertising amongst that crowd that brought them there. There are some beautiful places here, but like most things here, they don’t make it easy to access.
I’m going back to Vietnam for a visit next week. They do a much better job catering to tourists there.
Ha! I hadn’t noticed the misplacement of the Philippine flag on that map.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 02/January/2026 @ 9:47 am
Kevin, I don’t really trust those tourist numbers. For example, I’m on a tourist visa and have lived here for years. Many other expats are in the same category. So, unlike AI, I’m pessimistic about the numbers. I know the business owners here in Barretto have been complaining for quite a while about the lack of tourists.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 02/January/2026 @ 9:23 am
Kevin, you’d think that the language and cultural similarities, along with its natural beauty, would be enough to make the Philippines a popular tourist destination. So why isn’t it? Thinking back to the days when I was a tourist, there are many things the PI just doesn’t get right. The airport in Manila is consistently ranked among the worst in the world, and yes, first impressions matter. When I see your walk photos, the quality infrastructure in Korea really stands out. Nothing like that here. Then there is the litter and noise to contend with. Hotels aren’t always that nice, but are still comparatively expensive. Public transportation is Jeepneys, trikes, or scamming taxis. I’m guessing that many of the tourists who visit for the first time don’t come back.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 02/January/2026 @ 8:55 am
Brian, well, apparently, 21 years of blogging nearly filled my 50GB of storage. With the $500 upgrade, I now have 200GB to utilize. I guess I’d better get busy or live longer so I can use it. Or maybe both.
I was paying around $135 a year, but with the recent upgrades in storage and security, it has more than doubled.
Yes, I was a big Stickman fan and was sad to see him go. I’m wondering if the website owners will look for a replacement. Regardless, it won’t be the same without him. I hope Stick doesn’t regret leaving.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 02/January/2026 @ 10:08 am
Thanks, Tommy. Happy New Year to you.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 01/January/2026 @ 12:33 pm
Kevin, I did Google the question and found a Reddit post saying that once HostGator started offering malware protection suddenly his blog was full of malware. Creating a market for their new service would be a profitable business model I suppose. I’m not sure I’m convinced that HostGator is the culprit, but it seems coincidental that, after I bought enhanced malware protection, I suddenly had to purchase additional data space so the malware protection had room to operate. Hmm…
» Posted By John McCrarey On 01/January/2026 @ 12:32 pm
Brian, glad to hear blog access hasn’t been an issue for you. Hopefully, now that HostGator has drained my wallet for premium services, whatever the problem was will be resolved permanently.
As for the beer drinking, most of the lady Hashers do shots and or wine, so the menfolk had to fill the void. I’m not sure how many beers were left over, but I saw a lot of inebriated people by the end of the day. And yeah, a couple of them were falling-down drunk. Me and my Zero were not in that category, thankfully.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 02/January/2026 @ 9:16 am
Mike, I just spent an hour online with my blog host. They emptied my wallet of $500 and promised to resolve the redirect issues. Sorry for the inconvenience.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 31/December/2025 @ 8:38 am
Kevin, Doh! Jesus, that should have been obvious. I could have sworn that spellchecker thing underlined “mein” when I wrote it that way. Yep, it just did it again. My bad for believing I was wrong.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 30/December/2025 @ 2:39 pm
Kevin, sorry, I can’t find the error. I mean, chose might be better wording than opted, but that doesn’t make opted wrong. Oh, wait. Maybe I didn’t need the “the.” Swan opted for chow mien. Is that it?
» Posted By John McCrarey On 30/December/2025 @ 9:58 am
Greg, I doubt a once-a-week feeding contributed much to the obesity outbreak. It’s just time to do something else.
Thanks for the head-up on the site redirect issue. I’ll inform my blog host of the problem and hopefully they can resolve it.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 30/December/2025 @ 9:40 am
Kevin, yes, I read about them and their decision to focus on love rather than marriage. Oh well, too late for me.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 29/December/2025 @ 7:19 am
Kevin, yes, that’s what I liked about the story, too. The father accepted the reality of the situation and went on with his life, and found peace in that—a good lesson for us all.
I hate backtracking, and last time we did this hike, we looked for an alternative route back to where we started. Things went wrong after that. A hard hill climb that led us to a dead end. A tricky downhill, then we got lost looking for the original trail. It was a hot day, and we all ran out of water. Not a good situation, and Scott suffered the most. This time we sucked it up and accepted that our trail would be out and then back again the way we came. The result was much better this go round.
My phonetic spelling of gaenari wasn’t bad for an old-timer who doesn’t speak Korean. I do recall the forsythia connection. Not sure if what I saw here was in the same family, but it looked familiar.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 28/December/2025 @ 12:41 pm
Terry, yes, that story resonated with me on a deep level. People grow and move on in their own directions, sometimes leaving you behind. That’s life.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 28/December/2025 @ 12:29 pm
Brian, thanks for the insights and advice. You may not be a doctor or counselor, but I bet you’ve stayed in a Holiday Inn before…
Seriously, though, I recognize that I am as much at fault as the ghosters, and my refusal to seek reconciliation clearly places the onus on me. For me, it is not a matter of not caring; it is accepting the fact that I am not valued. I don’t want to try to convince someone who clearly doesn’t want me in their life to let me back in. I trust that they are happier without me, and what is a better measure of love than giving those you care for what they desire.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 30/December/2025 @ 9:53 am
Kevin, Mat spells his name with one “t” (I just double-checked to be sure). He’s remarried now and has a new baby. Life goes on.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 27/December/2025 @ 8:51 am
«« Back To Stats PageBrian, I hadn’t heard from either of my kids since Thanksgiving. I decided I’d wait to see if they greeted me for Christmas. My daughter did, but not my son. I don’t beg. If someone doesn’t want me to be a part of their life, I’ll accept it and live mine alone.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 27/December/2025 @ 8:45 am