Comments Posted By John McCrarey
Displaying 1,591 To 1,620 Of 6,593 Comments
Sorry, Maria. I haven’t been back to the USA since before the scamdemic and I have no idea what the requirements are to enter the country. I doubt anything has changed since your visit last year.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 11/December/2024 @ 5:59 am
Totally agree with your assessment, Brian. And if someone doesn’t like living here, regardless of the reason, they should by all means pack their bags and go. Despite my prep work and due diligence, I had a Plan B in mind if things didn’t work out here for me–Cambodia. Yes, there are some frustrations associated with living in the PI, but I’m sure I would experience issues wherever I live. There is no such thing as perfect.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 10/December/2024 @ 7:36 am
All true, Kevin. Heat adds to the stress, but I can still go much further when walking on flat ground. The thing I hate the most is a climb at the end of a long walk. That always kicks my ass.
You are in a league of your own–a true marathoner. Not everyone has that impressive capability.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 10/December/2024 @ 7:42 am
Kev, well, she didn’t have any choice. She wanted to take her shoes off and cross barefooted, but I advised against doing so. Those rocks can be sharp and slippery, and who knows what else may be lurking on the bottom.
Your name came up as we completed our hike. I congratulated Swan on achieving the 9K milestone and told her of my dream of walking the 29K route to the Mope Beach Resort in San Narciso. She replied that it was too far to walk. I mentioned that you regularly hike longer distances than that in Korea. Swan responded that the weather is cooler there; every kilometer feels like five in our heat. Hmm, so I guess our Hash trail was 45K on Saturday!
» Posted By John McCrarey On 09/December/2024 @ 6:37 am
Brain, Yes, our host, Honeydew, owns a large functioning farm. We walked through a large grove of mango trees, but I’m unsure what else is produced there. As you can see from the Hash Run photos, it’s a pretty rural area. Even so, our hotel was only ten minutes away in the town of Pozorubbio.
Those Scottish accents can be tough to decipher. I had a Scottish friend in Korea who was an English teacher there. I could only understand him about half the time. I also laughed about someday meeting a Korean kid with a Scottish accent and knowing who his teacher was.
Well, yes, now that you mention it, I did have six gin and tonics last night. And today, I’ll have Zero beers at the Hash. It’s good to be back home!
» Posted By John McCrarey On 09/December/2024 @ 6:28 am
Daeguowl, thanks for the clarification. Scotch eggs are pretty tasty!
» Posted By John McCrarey On 09/December/2024 @ 6:02 am
There is nothing at all wrong with camping. I was an avid camper in my younger years. These days, I have no desire to sleep on the ground and wake up to no toilet or shower. I’ve become addicted to creature comforts! Now, give me an RV, and I’ll happily go glamping!
» Posted By John McCrarey On 08/December/2024 @ 8:42 am
The problem is that universities have become indoctrination centers rather than institutions of higher learning.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 07/December/2024 @ 7:55 am
Brian, my understanding is the godparent thing here is very informal. In this case, Swan just gave the woman her name and a 500 peso donation. I won’t be surprised if Swan gets hit with “help” requests on birthdays and holidays. Then again, the only point of contact is when we walk by.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 07/December/2024 @ 7:54 am
Castillejos loop de las loonies
Kev, well, I was going for the Spanish vibe, but I see now that I should have used the plural. However, what do you use when the group is mixed? I guess I should have gone with the singular since I’m obviously the loonie.
I’ve never experienced the pebble issue except when wading through water. I just enjoy the vibe of being off-road.
Swan can’t sleep without her Teddy. Sometimes, I hide it and smile while watching her frantically search the bedroom for it.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 06/December/2024 @ 8:01 am
Brian, yes, and walking in dirt feels cooler without the reflected heat off the pavement.
I understand it had a different vibe in the Navy days, and most of the nasty bars were in Subic. The stories my friend told were more about law and order issues. He said back then, the cops were the gangsters, and you always had to be careful not to piss off the wrong person.
Smiling ain’t my style, but Swan insists. I guess it’s the little things you do to keep them happy!
» Posted By John McCrarey On 06/December/2024 @ 7:50 am
Kev, Nope, I’d never seen penguin sing. Thanks for the link!
I’d wager our “sane” group of Hashers outnumbers the hardcore folks most of the time.
Regarding the pulled pork, I just ordered the sandwich. Once I’d scrapped the meat off the bread, I realized that I’d wasted a perfectly good bun. I doubt the waitress will know what “sans” means, so I’ll just say, “pulled pork sandwich with no bun, please.”
» Posted By John McCrarey On 04/December/2024 @ 7:29 am
Brian, precisely. And some Hares do shitty trails that put you at risk. Nope, that’s not what I came for.
Yeah, I wonder if some of those “first times” are legit. I’m way older than them, of course, but when I was a kid I’d see Ed Sullivan or American Bandstand on TV and get exposed to music I’d never heard on my transistor radio. I’m not sure how they could have avoided being exposed to the oldies, but whatever. Some of them are fun to watch.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 04/December/2024 @ 7:24 am
Regarding female Asian stereotypes, I agree with you. That said, the type of Western woman who believes and perpetuates those myths is the type who is driving Western men away. And physically, I will take a little brown beauty over the chunky gals back home without hesitation. As I said, it wasn’t the women that made me flee the USA, and women weren’t the primary motivation for moving here, but they do help make it a special place to be.
Honestly, I don’t think our once-a-week brief interactions can influence the kids we candy. I’m trying to get them to stop running down the middle of the road as we approach with limited success. Swan admonishes against littering and sometimes has them line up and wait patiently for their turn at the handout, but that’s about the extent of our behavior modification. I doubt they’ll become dependent on us. Yes, many of them look forward to our weekly arrival, but if we stopped coming, we wouldn’t be missed for long.
I talked to the German Hare who wrote that message on the pole. He said the man who lives in the house is German, and the words were directed towards him. He acknowledged the French origins of “sans souci,” and I noticed as I passed the house on the hike yesterday that the resident calls his house “Sans Souci” based on those words being written on his fence.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 03/December/2024 @ 6:42 am
We’re on, Baldy!
I’m not sure what happened at the birthday party. Miscommunication or bad timing. Either way, no big deal. I wouldn’t have sat through the videoke anyway.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 02/December/2024 @ 7:28 am
Sorry to disappoint, Aaron, but there are no trannies at Kokomo’s. Good luck in your search!
» Posted By John McCrarey On 01/December/2024 @ 6:36 am
Thanks, Kevin. That’s the plan!
» Posted By John McCrarey On 01/December/2024 @ 6:35 am
Greg, nope, everyone ate Yankee style. Well, we did serve some rice.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 01/December/2024 @ 6:37 am
Brian, yes I managed to throw just well enough to win. It came down to the out shot; he missed, I didn’t.
It was a great cheat day that I’m thankful for, but now it is back to the grind. Once I achieve my target weight (under 200 pounds) I might see how a weekly cheat day works out.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 30/November/2024 @ 7:22 am
Terry, I’m guessing those calories hadn’t kicked in yet when I weighed myself. We’ll see what happens next week.
Well, I drink low-alcohol beer (3%) so it is about half the power of regular beer. When Zero isn’t available, I have to remind myself to slow down…
» Posted By John McCrarey On 30/November/2024 @ 7:19 am
Kev, Yeah, I knew the beans were carby, but I was surprised at the high calorie count for that single serving. I’ll try and do better in the future.
The candied yams recipe was very simple and easy to follow. I actually added some cinnamon and pecan pieces which I think made it have an even more robust flavor.
Well, well, well. So, I finally tickled your funny bone! Glad you liked seeing Santa making a Christmas wish cum true!
» Posted By John McCrarey On 29/November/2024 @ 7:30 am
Ya, thanks for letting me know people on other blogs are using the image of MY turkey. I can’t blame them, it did come out looking good and it tasted even better than it looked!
I’ll be posting more images from the feast today–let me know if anyone steals them.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 29/November/2024 @ 7:21 am
Kev, Ya Kid Kay is just a random troll, but I take it as a backhanded compliment. If my turkey looks so good it must be stolen, it came out better than I hoped. And it tasted good, too. The brining process was something new to me (thanks again for the tip!), and Swan did a great job with basting throughout the oven roasting. We didn’t stuff the bird, but my helper Teri inserted a halved lemon inside that cavity, which was something I’d never seen before. The turkey was flavorful, and the meat wasn’t dry. A team effort!
Now that I think about it, I’m a day ahead of US time, so all those other images the troll talks about must be from people cooking early. Either that, or THEY stole images of my bird!
» Posted By John McCrarey On 29/November/2024 @ 7:18 am
Kevin, I went to the trouble of moving the microwave up to the roof so my guests could reheat anything they desired, but I only used it once for the gravy. Everything else, including the yams, tasted okay at room temp (or should I say rooftop temperature), so I worried for nothing.
Yes, I’ve been an editor’s nightmare since I first picked up a pen. I’m surprised about the spelling error with marshmallow because WordPress has a built-in spellchecker (it underlines the word in red). Maybe that feature wasn’t available back in 2010. I’ll go back and review that post and see what I can fix. Perhaps not today; I have some excess calories to burn!
» Posted By John McCrarey On 29/November/2024 @ 7:43 am
Shit, I accidentally clicked on the link for Japanese rentals instead of opening it in a new tab and lost everything I’d written in response to your comment. Damn it!
Anyway, the umbrella lady’s name is Wendy. She calls me Papa, so I call her Mama. Nicknames should be capitalized, and I will do so in the future. Promise. Unless I forget.
Thanks for the tip on making cranberry sauce from juice. Glad I won’t have to go that route. I’d probably have to order the gelatin online anyway.
No blowtorch, so any needed reheating will be in the microwave. I’m bringing it up to the roof. The logistics of this feast are a little daunting, especially in an outdoor venue. Things may not be served as warm or as chilled as they should be, but the beer will be ice cold for sure.
Happy Thanksgiving to you, Kevin!
» Posted By John McCrarey On 28/November/2024 @ 6:58 am
Yes, two cans of whole berry cranberry sauce at Royal yesterday. Woo hoo!
» Posted By John McCrarey On 27/November/2024 @ 6:26 pm
Regarding the tail feathers, I was wondering the same thing. They have dogs, roosters, and goats around, so maybe the turkey pissed someone off.
I’ll check out the dry-brining video for ideas, but my prep plan was just to baste the bird in butter and spices, then throw it in the oven for a few hours. I’ll make the fruit salad and candied yams today.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 27/November/2024 @ 7:40 am
Kev, glad to hear I’m showing improvement. Slow and steady wins the race!
Yeah, it is always a conscious decision I make about the amount I imbibe, but I never really counted the number of drinks; I’ve always measured by how they make me feel. I don’t want to get drunk drunk, and with beer, I can normally tell when it’s time to stop. The gin is stronger and a little trickier to gauge. Still, counting calories against the daily target adds a new element to the decision-making process–“I could go for one more, but is it worth those added calories?” Most of the time, I make the right call.
Sitting here right now, I’m feeling that familiar pang in my belly. Pre-diet, I’d get up and pour myself a big bowl of cereal. These days, I try to ignore the feeling, and it does seem to go away after a bit. If it gets too bad, I grab a dill pickle slice or two, and that seems to satisfy the craving for food.
As for shortcut decision-making, it depends. Sometimes, the Hare sends out a map, and you can make a plan beforehand. That didn’t happen yesterday, so I was on my own. As fate would have it, during my walk to the starting point, I encountered a portion of the day’s trail, so I had a good idea of what was in store. I arrived at the start three minutes late, and everyone was gone, so I just continued with a street walk. Got in 7.5K, though. No, I don’t have contour map apps to consult, but unless I’m in unfamiliar territory, I can usually find alternative routes based on past experience.
“Back when CGI was primitive”.
And you could call gay folk “faggot” in your lyrics.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 26/November/2024 @ 8:14 am
Brian, I know nothing about drumming, but the concept of simple equipment mixed with extreme talent seems like a winning formula. I don’t mind listening to AC/DC music, but I hate their videos. That cheesy guitar player hopping around in a schoolboy uniform is annoying to me. Give me Eric Clapton just standing there letting the guitar display his mastery is so much more entertaining.
Well, we still enjoy the Sunday candy walk, but it does feel like an obligation knowing that kids are expecting us and will be disappointed if we don’t show up. When we do other walks with sweets, we try to not visit the same neighborhoods regularly so the kids are always happily surprised to see us. On the other hand, we have some Sunday regulars we enjoy seeing every week, so it works out for both the givers and receivers.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 26/November/2024 @ 7:43 am
«« Back To Stats PageGeez, I’m such a dumbass. Answer was staring me right in the face…
» Posted By John McCrarey On 25/November/2024 @ 10:28 am