Comments Posted By John McCrarey
Displaying 121 To 150 Of 6,501 Comments
Honestly, Drain, I was feeling that way too. Yeah, I was wrong, but not wrong enough to kill true love. I’m glad she saw that light. I want to live drama-free in my old age.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 13/July/2026 @ 2:38 pm
Scott (Motorrad), thanks for sharing your thoughts. Swan and I visit several bars that we enjoy, and not all of them are the “girly” variety. Even in the bars with dancers, the girls don’t bother us. Actually, Swan is on a friendly basis with most of our regular waitresses and has no qualms whatsoever about us providing lady drinks. The misunderstanding that occurred at Thumbstar was because we had never been there before and Swan didn’t know that I knew our waitress, who Swan thought was being overly touchy. I honestly didn’t even notice and never touched her back. What Swan didn’t know was that I’ve “known” the waitress since 2010. When I explained that history to her, she said I should have introduced her. Yeah, except I couldn’t remember her name. Anyway, I’ll make sure no one touches me in the future.
No, I have some male Filipino acquaintances, but none that I’d call friends. Hell, I don’t have many expat friends either.
Anyway, Swan seems to enjoy the bars we regularly visit. Obviously, we won’t be back to Thumbstar. I bought some food for the gals at Red Bar last night, and one lady drink. Swan was on board with that. I asked about buying a round of drinks for the Jumpin’ Jacks crew (we were the only customers on a rainy night), and Swan suggested we give them each a 100 peso tip instead. So, they made more than the drink commission that way, and it saved me about half the cost of buying them all drinks. Win-win!
» Posted By John McCrarey On 13/July/2026 @ 11:04 am
Thanks, everyone. I believe the issue has now been resolved, and we are proceeding back to normalcy.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 12/July/2026 @ 9:24 am
Disappointed, I could have tried talking to them, but chose not to. I did not engage in any “explosive temper tantrums” or otherwise make a scene. I just finished my beer and left. I’m not the one who needs therapy.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 11/July/2026 @ 7:34 am
Drain, yes, I could have handled it better. At least I didn’t lose my temper or make a scene. I just walked away.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 11/July/2026 @ 7:30 am
Glenn, thanks for sharing your thoughts.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 11/July/2026 @ 7:28 am
Rosemary, thank you for your feedback.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 10/July/2026 @ 4:46 pm
Brian, I’ve used my driver for drop-offs like that on occasion, but it’s a bit of a logistical hassle, especially if he has to wait a couple of hours for us to finish the hike. But yeah, that’s an option I will likely use again.
Totally agree that these guys claiming to live like the locals are full of it (bola-bola as they say here). No running water (pump it out of the well and carry it home), no internet, no aircon. Why would anyone choose that life? I spend way more than I have to, but as they say, you can’t take it with you, so enjoy it while you can.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 10/July/2026 @ 12:45 pm
Rosemary, my primary hobbies are hiking and beer drinking…I’m a walkaholic/alchoholic. I honestly don’t consider it cheating. Why buy all the ingredients separately when Betty Crocker puts them all together in a box?
» Posted By John McCrarey On 10/July/2026 @ 12:39 pm
Rosemary, yeah, I’m pretty lazy when it comes to baking, so Betty Crocker helps me out. It’s weird, but everyone seems to love my brownies, even though I cheat. Not everything I make comes from a box, but I do tend to take shortcuts when the opportunity arises.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 09/July/2026 @ 10:47 pm
Daeguowl, Wow! I really did enjoy that article. I’d met Mama Kim, but we were never close. Some of those money bills hanging on the wall have my name on them, though. Damn, I miss those good ol’ days.
Thanks for sharing the link!
» Posted By John McCrarey On 08/July/2026 @ 9:58 am
Brian, the only Apple product I’ve owned was an iPod. I had like 17,000 songs on it when I left it on a bus in Seoul one morning. Oh, well. Having started with Android systems, I never felt compelled to try to master the Apple way. I’m probably not alone in that regard.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 08/July/2026 @ 9:56 am
Brian, yeah, it doesn’t seem to be that widespread. Terry’s comment offers a potential solution for those who can’t log in.
Getting in and out of trikes can be a challenge, especially when you are overweight and can’t bend over. I’m getting better lately (down 20 pounds so far). I also look for trikes with a little extra headroom.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 07/July/2026 @ 1:21 pm
Terry, good to know. I’ve upgraded my security and have malware checks done regularly. For what I’m paying, this better be a trusted site!
» Posted By John McCrarey On 07/July/2026 @ 1:18 pm
Dr. Greg, I spent some time this morning chatting with my blog host, and this is the result:
Since no issues have been identified with the server, DNS configuration, SSL setup, or the website itself, it is possible that the users experiencing the issue may have firewall, security software, browser extensions, or network restrictions enabled on their systems, which could be preventing access to the website.
I would recommend asking the affected users to try accessing the site from a different browser, network, or device, and to temporarily check whether any firewall or security settings may be blocking the connection.
I’m a techno peasant, so I don’t have a clue what that might mean as far as fixing the issue. Several folks from several different countries have also had a problem. Thanks for letting me know, and hopefully this won’t recur anytime soon.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 06/July/2026 @ 9:10 am
Thanks for thinking of me, Yvon. No hangover; I drank responsibly for some reason. Sorry about the trouble opening the blog. Hopefully, whatever the issue was has now been resolved.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 05/July/2026 @ 3:44 pm
Thanks, Drain. Had a good time celebrating in the bars last night. Played “America, Fuck Yeah!” and “Stars and Stripes Forever” at higher-than-normal volumes. Music the bargirls had never heard before.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 05/July/2026 @ 9:43 am
Brian, good to hear. Thanks!
» Posted By John McCrarey On 05/July/2026 @ 9:41 am
Koko, I don’t know what the problem might be. I’m not blocking you are anything like that. Another commenter said they were also having difficulty logging on to the blog.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 04/July/2026 @ 5:48 pm
Drain, and usually they are wrong about that information.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 04/July/2026 @ 3:52 pm
Linda, no wonder I’m so tired today. I was running through your dreams all night!
» Posted By John McCrarey On 04/July/2026 @ 11:09 am
Thanks, Dr. Greg. I haven’t noticed any issues on my end. I have a program that periodically scans for malware, so perhaps it blocks logins during that process. Please do let me know if you continue to have problems logging in.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 04/July/2026 @ 11:06 am
Brian, live and learn. I got the COVID and survived it, but in the end we all die of something.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 04/July/2026 @ 11:08 am
Nice to hear from you again, John. Hope all is going well for you in the UK.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 03/July/2026 @ 4:32 pm
Brian, what has impressed me in reading my old posts is that I knew from Day 1 the COVID restrictions, even if the intentions were good, were bullshit. I mean, facemasks were mandated, but a handkerchief tied over your face was acceptable. Social distancing meant limiting the number of people allowed inside the store, but created crowded lines as people waited their turn outside. The lockdown, keeping people confined in close quarters instead of outside breathing fresh air, was counter-productive.
Anyway, I guess this issue is almost like religion; folks are gonna believe whatever their faith tells them. Me, I’m going to hell.
As for the deadliness of the virus itself, I know the numbers were skewed, at least here in the Philippines. Hospitals had a financial incentive to declare deaths as COVID-related. I know of one case here in Subic involving a foreigner who had a heart attack, was brought to the hospital where he died, and the next day it was called a COVID fatality. I also found it strange that during the scamdemic there were no deaths from the flu or other common illnesses here like dengue. So, I guess COVID was a cure for those.
Fauci told so many lies he had to be granted a pardon. The medical community lost its credibility forever with the claim that people had to stay indoors UNLESS they were attending a George Floyd protest; then it was okay. Sorry, I’m not disputing that COVID was dangerous, but the reaction to it was worse.
I agree with your assessment of the video. Folks living the high life in places like Makati, but to me that’s not living in the Philippines. I’ll take my free-spending small-town lifestyle any day.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 03/July/2026 @ 12:19 pm
Barrett, apology accepted.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 02/July/2026 @ 5:35 pm
Dr. Greg, well, that wasn’t the Gary commenter Barrett was talking about because that Gary and I never had a falling out about pants wetting or anything else. He moved back to the UK several months ago for family reasons.
I honestly don’t understand the aspersions people like Barrett throw out there without a shred of evidence to support them. It says more about them than me.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 02/July/2026 @ 4:10 pm
Daeguowl, Someone had told me the Opry and most of the bars on Hooker Hill had closed. Glad to know that’s not the case. Not that I’ll ever be back, but it was (is) the best country bar around.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 02/July/2026 @ 12:49 pm
Barrett, I’m not “constantly wetting myself in public.” I did once back in January when I was having some bladder control issues. Those have been resolved, and I’m doing fine now, thanks. Anyone who would desert you over a single pants-wetting incident was never a “friend,” and I consider it a blessing that they revealed the true nature of their character. Swan loves me and doesn’t care about my losing a so-called friend.
I don’t know anyone named Gary, so I have no idea what you are talking about. It appears you don’t know what you are talking about either.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 02/July/2026 @ 12:47 pm
«« Back To Stats PageBrian, I hooked MJ up with someone to help guide her through the process of gaining citizenship for her kids, but MJ never followed through. She’s not the sharpest knife in the drawer, I’m afraid. The father of her kids was a bar manager for years, so I doubt he died with any assets. That $200 a month was probably all he could afford. Anyway, I’ve taken on his burden, and that is the amount I give MJ each month.
Mixed-race kids here are at no disadvantage, and in fact, fair-skinned folk are considered the most attractive. I do see quite a few kids around that appear to have European genes. I also dated a gal whose grandfather was a black American. I could see it in her mother, but she didn’t get any color.
Damn, I’m pretty sure “H” was my father too! Where do I sign up?
» Posted By John McCrarey On 01/July/2026 @ 2:35 pm