Comments Posted By Kevin Kim
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What’s love got to do with it?
It feels a bit corny to recommend this, but the movie “The Way,” starring Martin Sheen, is actually a great guide to the Camino de Santiago (literally, “the Way of Saint James”—Iago, like the character in Othello, is one Spanish form of “James”). The movie is about a father who loses his son (Emilio Estevez, appearing in flashbacks of memory and in hallucinations); the son had been planning to walk the Camino de Santiago, but died in a storm in the Pyrenees, having only barely begun the Way. The father decides, after having his son cremated in France, to put on his boy’s gear and do the walk his son never had the chance to do. This wasn’t a megahit movie by any means, and as dramas go, it’s relatively quiet, although there are some flare-ups of conflict as the doctor meets various colorful characters along the trail. Despite the movie’s understated tone, the cinematography is wonderful, and you’ll definitely end up with a grand impression of the Camino itself—its twists and turns, and the various rest stops along the way, some of which seem inviting enough, others of which appear rough and spartan.
Europe is shot through with amazing trails. I’d like to hike the GR5, from the Holland coast all the way down to Nice, but that one’s rather intimidating because it goes through several mountain ranges, waaay up and waaay down. The Camino, meanwhile, is globally famous, so if you’re an introvert, you might not appreciate all the people hiking the trail with you—a fact that the Martin Sheen movie doesn’t back away from. It’s a crowded experience, apparently.
Anyway, if Heidi proves to be interested (there’s still hope! she sounds like a good’n), I hope you’ll consider putting the Camino on your list of things to do. At this point, with all the training you’ve had doing the local mountains, I’d say you’re in far better shape than I am to tackle something like the Way. Good luck with both walking and Heidi-ing.
As for this:
…when those feelings arise you owe it to yourself (and the object of your desire) to at a minimum let the person know of your interest. There are worse things than rejection and I would count a missed opportunity for something rare and special among them.
I consider myself rebuked. Heh.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 07/January/2019 @ 3:32 pm
Depending on how serious you are about this whole navigation thing, you might consider
1. getting contour maps of your local region that are made to a scale fine enough to show things like mountain trails, and/or
2. joining an orienteering club in your area, if such a thing exists.
Whatever you end up doing, I wish you success in finding the path you’re looking for.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 05/January/2019 @ 7:47 pm
[Please delete my first comment. This comment contains a correction.]
It might or might not be helpful to use GPS navigation on your phone to ensure you’re not going in circles. There’s another, more old-school, more common-sense type of navigation… it has a name, but I can’t remember the name right now. It requires a compass (something you can download onto your phone as well). Basically, you plot out the general direction you need to go in—SE, NW, NE, etc.—then you point yourself in that direction. Before you even take a step, you look ahead and find a landmark that’s within your line of sight and also in the direction you’re walking. You walk until you reach that landmark, then stop. Use your compass to re-find the direction you need to go in, find another landmark, then proceed in that direction.
It’s not a perfect system, obviously: you might see a landmark far ahead, but the path you’re on swings the opposite way. In such cases, it might be wise to find a really far-off landmark, way in the distance, that you set for yourself as your next waypoint. If you veer way off the path, you then stop and look for that far-off landmark, and go toward it on any path that takes you in that direction. If you veer away again, just repeat this procedure. And then, when you finally reach that landmark, just get your bearings, point yourself at your original heading, and set off again in your chosen direction.
Think of this as a navigational algorithm. It’s not perfect, but it’ll eventually get you where you’re going. Having GPS as an aid is just icing on the cake. Assuming you get a cell signal when you’re out in the boonies, of course.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 05/January/2019 @ 6:29 pm
It might or might not be helpful to use GPS navigation on your phone to ensure you’re not going in circles. There’s another, more old-school, more common-sense type of navigation… it has a name, but I can’t remember the name right now. It requires a compass (something you can download onto your phone as well). Basically, you plot out the general direction you need to go in—SE, NW, NE, etc.—then you point yourself in that direction. Before you even take a step, you look ahead and find a landmark that’s within your line of sight and also in the direction you’re walking. You walk until you reach that landmark, then stop. Use your compass to re-find the direction you need to go in, find another landmark, then proceed in that direction.
It’s not a perfect system, obviously: you might see a landmark far ahead, but the path you’re on swings the opposite way. In such cases, it might be wise to find a really far-off landmark, way in the distance, that you set for yourself as your next waypoint. If you veer way off the path, you then stop and look for that far-off landmark, and go toward it on any path that takes you in that direction. If you veer away again, just repeat this procedure. And then, when you finally reach that landmark, just get your bearings, point yourself at your original heading, and set off again in your chosen direction.
Think of this as a navigational algorithm, It’s not perfect, but it’ll eventually get you where you’re going. Having GPS as an aid is just icing on the cake. Assuming you get a cell signal when you’re out in the boonies, of course.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 05/January/2019 @ 6:26 pm
Strangely, my RSS feed still hasn’t updated to show this latest post of yours. I came over to your blog on a random impulse, perhaps motivated, like your correspondent, to find out why you hadn’t written in a while. As it turns out, you have written. Keep up the good work; I’m happy to read slice-of-life blogging and learn about the local culture through your eyes.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 04/January/2019 @ 8:39 pm
All the best for 2019.
Buddy’s posture says, “I don’t know why I still have my balls, but I thank Dog every day that I do!”
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 31/December/2018 @ 5:33 pm
FUD LUK GUD
Happy New Year, if I don’t get a chance to say so on the day itself!
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 29/December/2018 @ 4:24 pm
Merry Christmas and good luck with the Hash.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 24/December/2018 @ 6:35 pm
You’ve described Marissa, in earlier posts, as a “friend with benefits.” I’ve long been suspicious of such a category of friendship. Back in college, I knew a guy who was “kissing friends” with a beautiful young lady, and even then, I suspected that there was no way you could be in a kissing relationship while still being “just friends.” You have to be pretty emotionally cold to try to have it both ways like that, i.e., being sexually available while also behaving in an “I could take it or leave it” manner. I don’t know… maybe I’m too emotionally undeveloped, and I simply haven’t come to understand the complexities of adult relationships. But I just don’t see how sex and friendship mix, and I get the feeling—given how often your blog posts return to the topic of Marissa (even if only briefly)—that she’s not “just a friend” to you, and that there are still un-worked-out issues regarding her. Again, I have no idea whether I’m just blowing smoke, here. I’m coming at this from the prudish perspective that sex introduces a great deal of rawness and chaotic emotion and mind-altering hormones that can’t be easily boxed into a “friends with benefits” label. Frankly, I find the concept impossible.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 21/December/2018 @ 1:56 pm
So my blessing was a curse.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 20/December/2018 @ 3:08 am
May the Good Lord guide thine arm, that thine aim be true!
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 19/December/2018 @ 10:22 pm
Ask, and ye shall receive.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 18/December/2018 @ 1:33 pm
“…but I do monitor my weight/blood pressure/resting heart rate [every day]. I want to stay healthy so I can continue to live large (without getting large).”
You’re an example to follow. Congrats on getting back under 200! I bloated up after losing 6 kg in France, and I’m trying to get back down from that bloat.
The breffus looks good. Carbaliciously good. I’d call it “chicken-fried” steak as well, for what it’s worth, but I’ve heard “country-fried” before, too. I’ll have to do some research and see whether there’s a difference.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 18/December/2018 @ 1:30 pm
Oh, and thanks for the undeserved shout-out.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 15/December/2018 @ 8:46 pm
Have you figured out a new way to caption your photos? Cool.
Good for you re: blazing new trails. Glad to see you being curious about the country. As you know, my worry, when it comes to barflies, is that they’re generally incurious about the world, preferring routine over excitement and discovery. Glad that you’re striking the balance between secure routine and somewhat risky adventure. Happy exploring!
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 15/December/2018 @ 8:46 pm
It’s been a most excellent ride. Congrats and Happy Fourteenth!
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 12/December/2018 @ 10:19 pm
Buddy does look a lot like a cat that’s strung out on catnip. But it just means he’s relaxed and comfortable, or as the French say, bien dans sa peau, i.e., “(feeling) good in his skin.”
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 11/December/2018 @ 8:16 pm
Eight hours in the crock pot and still tough? Christ, that’s hard to imagine. Might be time to look into getting a meat injector and injecting some sort of tenderizer directly into the muscle before crocking.
(I see they also have 2-in-1 tenderizer/injectors on the market. I would normally call such an item a frivolous purchase, but if the meat you’re dealing with really is that fucking tough, then it’s time to enhance your kitchen weaponry.)
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 10/December/2018 @ 6:29 pm
A 22K average is not bad at all! Congrats to the granddaughter. And I hope you enjoyed the pot roast.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 09/December/2018 @ 4:30 pm
How is Anal Retentive able to build a house in the PI? I thought foreigners couldn’t buy property there– they could only rent. Am I missing something?
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 08/December/2018 @ 1:58 pm
OK, enough hours have passed; I won’t leave you hanging. It does indeed have to do with a horse: the cowboy’s horse’s name is Friday, which is why he was able to ride into town “on Friday” and ride out again “on Friday.”
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 07/December/2018 @ 12:13 am
Big hint: mentally remove the phrase “into town” from the first sentence.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 06/December/2018 @ 6:05 pm
Ah, yes: one example of a genre of “distraction” riddles. You open the front door first, of course, to let your parents in. Then the fridge. Then the goodies’ various bags and bottles.
Or maybe the answer is, “You open your parents’ minds first by talking to them through the front door about the benefits of a free-market economy. Only when they’re convinced do you let them in.”
Here’s an easy riddle in exchange:
A cowboy calmly rides into town on Friday. He stays three days, starts no fights, then leaves on Friday. How is this possible?
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 06/December/2018 @ 5:32 pm
Maybe it’s a cause/effect feedback loop: life imitates pop songs, and pop songs imitate life.
Some might say “vicious circle” instead of “feedback loop,” though…
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 05/December/2018 @ 5:35 pm
See, there’s your problem right there: you keep modeling your life after pop songs.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 05/December/2018 @ 3:24 pm
In the “What She Sees” part of that meme, that’s the popular dude from H3H3 on YouTube, isn’t it?
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 03/December/2018 @ 9:41 pm
Great-looking pulled pork, man. A slow cooker is the best solution for tough meats. (Next best thing might be a pressure cooker—very popular in Brazil, apparently, if my brother David is to be believed.)
I recently did a writeup about the “eye round” cut of beef, which one food writer described as “unredeemable.” That’s bullshit. Run that thang through a slow cooker, and you’re golden. Ain’t no reason to complain about tough meat as long as you’ve got a slow cooker. (Why am I sounding Cajun all of a sudden?)
You have an oven, ja? If so, then for ribs and such, the solution is low and slow cooking, just as if you were using an outdoor smoker.
Glad you’re keeping up your 20K steps/day average. I’m way below that, and I need to bump things up, starting this week. It’s cold and rainy here, though, which is very de-motivating. Anyway, good luck maintaining those numbers.
Have you heard about the increasingly popular Instant Pot? It’s a slow cooker and much more. My brother Sean, who’s a talented cook, swears by it. I’m curious to get my hands on one as well. It’s a large-capacity appliance, I think, which might make it good for brisket and such.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 03/December/2018 @ 9:38 pm
Oh, yeah:
I sat down in a nice open bar/resto, drank beer, and people watched.
So it sounds as if people watched you while you sat and drank.
Slight change:
I sat down in a nice open bar/resto, drank beer, and people-watched.
Behold the power of hyphens.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 28/November/2018 @ 6:25 pm
As long as you (1) make it out of Manila alive, (2) with a clear plan of how to handle whatever paperwork remains, and (3) without contracting an STD, I think that’ll be a clear win.
You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy.
—Obi-wan Kenobi, reminiscing about his time in Manila» Posted By Kevin Kim On 28/November/2018 @ 5:16 pm
«« Back To Stats PageI thought the Hare planned out the hikes well in advance. Ah—but your Hash is normally on Mondays, right? So this wasn’t a true Hash?
Well, at least you found your way back to civilization. Getting lost can be fun sometimes, just as long as it doesn’t become the basic condition of your existence!
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 25/November/2018 @ 6:40 pm