Comments Posted By Kevin Kim
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I hadn’t noticed that my phone settings reverted back, but I’ve turned off that feature again
It’s frustrating when your phone tries to do your thinking for you, and one of the most common problems is just this: unasked-for reversion of manual settings. My phone does that, too, and I hate it. It doesn’t inspire you to trust the technology.
Everything to the right of the river is accessed by this bridge.
I guess the terrorists know right where to strike, then. Bottleneck.
Does that make her a Swan sandwich on John bread?
Two siblings and a John? Kinda gross. But hey, you do you.
I watched episode #3 of “Blue Eye Samurai,” and it was the most intense so far.
In a previous post, didn’t you mention watching Episode 3? You might be stuck in a “Groundhog Day” loop.
Until yesterday, it had been a week since I’d managed to break the 10,000-step barrier.
Congrats! I’m glad the meds are as effective as they are.
Here’s hoping today’s Hash went well, with the two hills.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 04/March/2024 @ 4:38 pm
Bon voyage, Max! Or should I say Gute Reise?
The recently completed dirty kitchen
I suspected that you would never insult your host by calling his kitchen dirty in a derisive way, and sure enough, when I looked up the phrase “dirty kitchen,” I saw that it’s an anglo term often used in parts of Asia for outdoor kitchens. The term may have floated back to the West as well.
Looks to have been a nice evening gathering, then later, a nice walk with Swan. I’m glad your lungs are better. Here’s hoping that that holds up. Please do what you can to make your lungs even stronger.
Yeah, I’m probably going to hell for this one.
I recall morbidly thinking about how, once Aaron Bushnell set himself on fire, he only had enough strength to shout “Free Palestine!” four times before he was in too much pain to do more than moan and wail as he collapsed. He should have chanted a bit more before setting himself on fire. Not that that would’ve mattered in terms of changing minds. What an idiot.
Alas, I can’t see whatever the music video was. I got this message:
Video unavailable
This video contains content from UMPG Publishing, who has blocked it in your country on copyright groundsSo maybe it’s a Korea problem.
Walk on!
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 03/March/2024 @ 8:01 pm
Are you feeling any improvement throughout the day? Are there times of day when things are better/worse?
That was indeed a palatial bathroom. Martin’s the British one, right?
Well, you’re lucky to have good neighbors.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 02/March/2024 @ 4:43 pm
That’s why I made the lifestyle changes to slow it’s progress.
Ahem.
For what it’s worth, if you write your blog text in a Gmail text window, as if you were writing a normal email, Gmail has language software that will blue-underline perceived grammar, punctuation, etc. errors. It’s not always right, but it does catch quite a few legitimate mistakes. I just tried it with the above-quoted line, and it underlined the error.
I had a chicken enchilada…
Oh, look at those two lonely olives. They’re probably wondering why they’re even there.
…and a beef burrito with Mexican rice.
We have similar taste. I’d have gotten the beef burrito and the chicken quesadilla.
I didn’t even attempt the group hike today.
So you’ve regressed beyond “flat Earther” to just… a tree stump? Not good, dude. I really hope the new meds, and the Dr. Jo tweaks, get you up on your feet again. I can’t imagine what it’s like to have this sort of respiratory problem.
Best wishes, as well, to John the restaurateur. He deserves success.
It’s funny the shit you remember in old age.
I’m reminded of that joke about aging: “I can remember twenty years ago as if it were yesterday, but I can’t remember what I ate for breakfast a day ago.”
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 01/March/2024 @ 7:49 pm
I wrote:
Either way, the first “s” in Robbins” is part of his name, so if you write “Robbin’s,” then his surname must be “Robbin.”
I forgot the open quote on that first mention of “Robbins,” so I hereby call myself out for castigation. Right:
…the first “s” in “Robbins” is…
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 29/February/2024 @ 6:50 pm
Marty Robbin’s country-western classic
The apostrophe monster rears its ugly head! Assuming his name is “Marty Robbins,” you have two choices, depending on your authoritative source:
1. Marty Robbins’ (arguably the majority choice for names ending in “s”)
2. Marty Robbins’s (my own choice)Either way, the first “s” in Robbins” is part of his name, so if you write “Robbin’s,” then his surname must be “Robbin.”
Chili and the rest of the food looks good. I would have politely declined any invitation to sing because I can’t stand karaoke, but otherwise, the evening looks to have been a good time.
Good luck with the pulmonary specialists.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 29/February/2024 @ 3:35 pm
With all of the pics you now take of Swan, she has to know you’ve got a blog. No? Are you actively keeping the blog a secret? I think this may well be the healthiest relationship you’ve been in since you moved to the PI, but the unnecessary keeping of secrets can be corrosive.
I’m pretty sure I’d suffer a second stroke if I tried eating my way through a yard-long Snickers bar. Yikes.
Yeah, regarding that high-heels thing: I assumed you were thinking “ten inches to a foot” or something metric like that. It happens.
Nice sunset pics. Good luck with the gathering. The people want pics of the chili!
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 28/February/2024 @ 2:38 pm
It’s official: I’m a Flat Earther
One option might be to increase the distance I go when walking flat.
Good idea. Might I suggest the 10-15K range at least every other day?
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 28/February/2024 @ 8:29 am
About those apostrophes…
I’m one of the Hare’s for the March 11 run.
See the apostrophe error? You almost never use an apostrophe when pluralizing. The only exception is if it’s a matter of clarity.
WRONG: in the 1930’s
RIGHT: in the 1930sWRONG: We met the Williams’/William’s yesterday.
RIGHT: We met the Williams family/Williamses yesterday.WRONG: There were a lot of rabbit’s at the fair.
RIGHT: There were a lot of rabbits at the fair.For all of the above, if it’s plural, there’s no apostrophe. One exception:
WRONG: My son always gets As.
RIGHT: My son always gets A’s. (or: gets “A”s.)In the above example, the apostrophe clarifies that the word isn’t “as,” but rather the plural of “A.”
Anyway, I fuck up apostrophes with some regularity, but not on the scale of my comma errors. Still, it was a good read, even if the lesson doesn’t take in my addled brain.
So the “Hare’s” mistake was intentionally left in as a lead-up to the concept of the “grocer’s apostrophe”?
Good luck with those lungs. If you’re suddenly no longer able to tackle hills, that’s pretty serious. May the doc(s) find a cure, or at least a reprieve.
Looking forward to a review of “Shameless.” And how’s “Blue Eye Samurai” going?
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 27/February/2024 @ 6:12 pm
You’re surrounded by dudes who are substantially older than you, so they set a good example (along with your dad, of course). My dad turned 82 this year. (Cue sinister music.)
At least they only blocked one lane
Yay! There’s a tarp this time!
Swan takes a bridge bypass
She’s wise. I recently watched a YouTube “fail” video in which, at one point, a lady fell through such a bridge.
Dinner is served
Full-frontal tooth-flashing!
re: freezer joke
If that lady fit inside a normal fridge’s freezer, she didn’t freeze to death: she got Dahmered and was cut into pieces. Sort of story that really breaks me up.
Thank you for your patience.
This post, you talked a lot about how your routines are mundane, and you mentioned the “dreaded” Quora Q&A, as if anticipating that we’re all sick of your content. One blogger to another, I say: don’t apologize for your content. We might rib you about it now and then, but you do you.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 26/February/2024 @ 4:04 pm
A day on the road and a night on the town
Looks to have been a good walk and a good visit with the auntie. Is Hops and Brews too far away or something?
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 25/February/2024 @ 9:01 pm
I wouldn’t equate replaceable lungs with immortality (other irreplaceable systems can fail, after all, like the brain), but I can see how even a long life might get boring or annoying… especially if you spend your last few centuries as an old, decrepit person. I think what we’d all rather have is the wisdom that comes with age plus the bodies of our youth. Read the sci-fi novel Old Man’s War for more on that idea.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 25/February/2024 @ 8:52 pm
It’s too bad we don’t live several centuries in the future when you can just go home to a special cabinet that has your spare lungs, then switch out your bad lungs for the spares, snapping them into place within seconds—no fuss, no muss.
With your lungs making the news almost every day, now, this is becoming worrisome. Please get looked at soon.
Otherwise, good sunset pics, and a nice shot of the nachos despite the onions.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 24/February/2024 @ 8:54 pm
Alas, the night did not end well. I woke up again with that queasy feeling that comes from a lack of oxygen, and my oximeter confirmed it with a reading of 87. I sucked down some air from my tank and eventually got back to sleep. I had to abort my hike with the Friday group and really haven’t felt so good all day. I guess I’m beginning to sound like a broken record. We’ll see what happens next.
Dude. Get. Help.
My one scary night with COVID involved breathing difficulties. No exaggeration: I thought I was going to die—that if I closed my eyes and fell asleep, I’d stop breathing, and the thought was petrifying. Somehow, I rode the night out and was infinitely better the following day. But that felt like a close one, and I don’t think I’d ever do that again. For the love of Cthulhu, please see a doctor. As Mr. Miyagi said, “No breathe, no life.”
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 23/February/2024 @ 5:27 pm
This feels as if I’m kicking you while you’re down, but “it’s” is technically a clause (“it is” = subject + verb), not a conjunction. And “its,” without the apostrophe, is technically a possessive adjective although some grammar resources might call it a possessive pronoun.
Coordinating conjunctions: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so (FANBOYS)
Subordinating conjunctions: because, unless, until, if, that, before, after, etc.There are too many subordinating conjunctions to list. They all introduce subordinate (dependent) clauses, i.e., ideas that can’t stand on their own.
A clause contains a subject and a verb. See my Commas, Part 1 for more.
We took a 200 peso trike ride out to Naugsol to start our hike.
I didn’t mention anything about hyphen errors, but phrasal adjectives that come before the noun or noun phrase they modify are normally hyphenated:
a 200-peso trike ride
I think you caught everything else!
re: San Mig Lite
I stand corrected and pronounce myself educated.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 23/February/2024 @ 10:11 am
And then I encountered this little hill…and it kicked my ass. That pretty much shows my current sorry physical state.
Yikes. I’m looking at that hill and thinking that I could eat it for breakfast after all of my recent staircase work. Things must be pretty bad for you. I do hope this clears up, though—sooner rather than later. Nothing so basic as breathing.
I asked Google, “What helps open alveoli?” And the answer that came back was: simple deep breathing. Maybe try meditating while deep-breathing. While sober, of course.
And then there was another one.
Oh. I was fooled by that first shot. No, this looks like an ass-kicker of a slope, even for healthier lungs. I might be able to walk up without stopping, but I’d have to go slow and maybe switchback my way up.
We did encounter this old man who lives out here alone with his dog and says he loves the solitude.
That’s a really impressive thatched roof. Just… don’t smoke around there.
Steve pointed out that at least I’d have something to “post” about…
Morbid thought: you might need to tell Swan about your blog and give her access to it in case anything should… happen. If not Swan, then someone you trust.
What’s this bear doing in the woods?
Kind of a sad pic. I have a soft spot for abandoned stuffed animals.
There we are enjoying some beers, chips and dip, and chicken nuggets.
I hope they’re really enjoying those beers. San Mig Lite is kind of milquetoast for most regular drinkers, isn’t it?
My rocking chair and a cooler of beer to help pass the time.
A Playmate by your side. Nice.
The sun began it’s downward journey
Of the errors I let slide on my way through your post, this was most egregious. There were a few punctuation errors before this. Can you find ’em?
Watch out for them cross-eyed women. Soul-eaters.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 22/February/2024 @ 6:25 pm
I think Swan ordered what she thought she’d ordered. I saw the medallions on that shot of the menu. In fact, I recall thinking the medallions would be too skimpy for someone my size, and I’d never order them. The pork she got looked to be almost the size of an Alice Springs Chicken from Outback Steakhouse.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 22/February/2024 @ 8:11 am
And Swan also enjoyed her pork steak medallion.
Somebody has a funny idea of what a “medallion” is when cooking. What Swan has there looks more like butterflied pork. In cooking, medallions are supposed to look like little Olympic medals.
Here’re some real medallions. Or here.
With a blog-post title like “Bloody hell,” I was expecting some scary verbiage about you spitting up copious amounts of blood or something. Not to diminish the pulse-ox issue, which is obviously scary in its own right, but this is what your punniness leads me to look for. I guess, in this case, “Bloody hell” is just a literal expression of shock at the pulse-ox of 82.
Feel better tomorrow!
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 21/February/2024 @ 7:46 pm
In that case, you might enjoy Kiefer Sutherland going back to his Irish roots and cooking a traditional beef stew.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 21/February/2024 @ 10:11 am
Arriving at Johansson’s.
I forget—you may have clarified this once before, but is it pronounced “Joe Hanson’s” or “Yo Hanson’s”?
With all the dildos, sloshing toilet plungers, and leaking footwear, I found myself wondering just what was wrong with the beef “stew.” Odd taste? Bad beef leading to the wrong texture? Something else?
Personally, I’d have mashed those taters. And beets on the side?? I’d go with something more standard like peas/carrots, green beans, or asparagus.
A List of Awful Puns by G. Stillmore Gronerz.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 20/February/2024 @ 5:53 pm
I was on the fence about attending, but in the end, I decided I should show support for the local veteran’s organization.
Then they turned around and used ya’!
There was something I liked about this tree.
I’m gonna guess it’s the saucy zigzaggedness.
Green river…
Algae blooms?
Anticipation
That kid in the lower-left corner looks to be a character. I sense a future career in comedy for him.
Steve was the official photographer for the event.
He seems to prefer photographing the beach!
Lots of familiar faces in the crowd, including my ex and her new beau.
Is that your ex-chickadee (Mary?) who’s currently working in Manila? Is she back in town permanently or just visiting? Or am I mixing her up with someone else?
Judge not lest ye be judged.
Lest ye be curb-stomped by five-ton soles and stabbed by stiletto heels!
The contestants
#3 is definitely cute, but where did #8 go?
The contestants in swimwear. Number three was my favorite.
#3’s suit certainly left the least to the imagination. And poor #1—cut off or barely visible in many of these pics.
Dave conducting interviews for the “personality” contest
I think I found #8! And #9’s got a skimpy, barely-there swimsuit on.
My wife from that era was working at a local dining establishment, and I came in and sat at the bar while I waited for her shift to end.
This seems like a familiar scenario, from 1979 to now.
Happy Hashing! Hash is better than cocaine, I’m sure.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 19/February/2024 @ 5:22 pm
Sometimes, it’s good just to throttle back so you can meet the next day with renewed energy. Me, I try not to beat myself up too much about occasional lapses, but I know that, if those lapses become a habit, then something is out of whack. Just this weekend, I skipped the stairs on Friday, and when I did them on Saturday, I took a breather at the 14th floor before continuing up to 26. Tomorrow (Monday), I’ll go up without stopping, and if I have the strength, I’ll go back down to B1 and climb up to the 6th floor—what I call 1.25 staircases.
1 staircase = B1 to 26
1.25 = B1 to 26 + B1 to 6
1.5 = B1 to 26 + B1 to 14
1.75 = B1 to 26 + B1 to 22
2 = B1 to 26 twice
etc.The goal is to be able to do 3 staircases by summer. If I can do that, the big hills along the Four Rivers trail will be nothing.
I’ve thought about your “stairs are boring” comment. I find it impossible to be bored when I’m gasping for breath and wiping sweat off my brow. I also appreciate the “rigidity” of the staircase format, which makes it easier to measure my progress.
Anyway, have a good 6K.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 18/February/2024 @ 5:43 pm
Oh, that poor cake. Would’ve liked to see a pic of the re-iced masterpiece.
Food looked good. Glad it was a good time.
Rooftop karaoke! I bet your neighbors love you all.
Have fun at Jeff’s!
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 17/February/2024 @ 3:50 pm
I’ll have to rewatch “The Mule.” I reviewed it a while back.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 17/February/2024 @ 8:51 am
Haunting words from Toby Keith. Did he write them? Ah—I see he did. I guess the “old man” is either his future self or the specter of death. Maybe they’re the same thing.
Burrito looks good! Lasagna looks like… something made by an Arizonan. (Frankly, it reminds me more of runny eggs and sausage for breakfast!)
Swan’s hungry face
Maybe she’s got that alien-hunger for your face. Your tasty, tasty face.
Talk about having a roof over your head!
Wow, that’s a lovely shot.
Lungs! How’s the carbocisteine working out?
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 16/February/2024 @ 7:51 pm
John came out and chatted with us and the guests at another table. He’s still not doing all that well, but he was up and moving about, which is better than I’d seen in quite some time.
I’m glad John’s doing better… but he’d be doing even better if you flipped him horizontally! You still don’t flip your selfies, do you? Most of the time, if the background is jungle, I can’t tell, but if there’s writing in the photo (on a tee shirt, or on a sign), I can easily see whether the photo is backward. I’m surprised your new phone doesn’t automatically flip everything “right side up.” My new (well, three-year-old) Samsung does. I don’t think I even needed to tweak any settings.
She left the bar shortly thereafter and moved back home to the province. She wasn’t really cut out to be a bargirl.
Or: she had such a horrifically bad experience with you that she ran screaming!
Here’s hoping that your current experience with real companionship has made clear that fake companionship just isn’t worth it. This life is better than one that ends with the epitaph “Bullshit & Money Led Me Here.”
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 15/February/2024 @ 6:20 pm
The immigration office showed me some love in the form of a 60-day extension to my tourist visa.
I keep forgetting how tenuous your existence there is. Every sixty days of that bureaucratic nonsense would drive me crazy after a while. It’s bad enough that I have to renew my F4 visa every three years. Do you see the same staffers every time you go back, or do the faces change each time?
Swan had a Belgian sandwich
I had to look up what a Belgian sandwich was. In French, it’s called a “Mitraillette,” i.e., a submachine gun (a regular machine gun is a “mitrail,” roughly rhyming with “me try”). Looks delish. And according to Wikipedia, no onions!
re: “He loves me like an endless sea.”
Is that a reference to the infinitude of your love? If not, then I’m stumped because I don’t know how an endless sea loves a person.
I’m taking Swan to dinner tonight for VD at John’s place.
Thank goodness no one says “venereal disease” anymore: it’s all STDs these days. Otherwise, you might have to have a talk with John about his menu selections.
What more can be done for your lungs?
Anyway, Happy Valentine’s Day to you both.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 14/February/2024 @ 4:55 pm
I’ve never taken Vapo-Rub in pill form, but if this stuff cleans out the mucus, I’ll be happy.
You’ve had the Carbocisteine for at least a day now, and you’re still saying “if,” so… is it working at all?
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 14/February/2024 @ 9:06 am
Then a stroll along the riverbank.
The width of that passage was about the width of the road shoulder in that terrifying tunnel walk I did when I walked the Korean east coast. Flashbacks.
I love how they concreted around this tree so it could continue to live and grow.
Maybe it’ll die, fall over, and become a bridge one day.
What goes up must come down.
It always looks as if you guys are in some Vietnam war movie.
A fallen tree became a bridge.
I’m a prophet!
Another fire on the mountain.
The reflection in the water is dramatic.
And another Hash came to a close.
The moon’s little emoji smile is Nature’s blessing of your day.
Why do Americans call the small room where the toilet is a ‘restroom’ (when there are no chairs or beds in there) or a ‘bathroom’ (when there is no bath in there)?
The person may be thinking more of European “water closets,” i.e., tiny, toilet-only rooms, with the bath and sink in a separate room that is literally a “bathroom.” Most American dwellings combine the WC and the room-with-baths, as do most Korean dwellings. As for public “restrooms,” are you not resting for a bit as you drop the kids off at the pool? Why do Canadians call restrooms “washrooms” when all you do is wipe your ass and not wash anything? (OK, granted, if there’s a bidet and/or sink somewhere, you do wash your bum and hands.)
Good walk! I hope the Carbocisteine works. Sounds like a stronger version of Vick’s Vapo-Rub. Meanwhile, I look forward to your “Shameless” review, and I hope you enjoy “Blue Eye Samurai.”
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 13/February/2024 @ 5:47 pm
«« Back To Stats PageThat road from the highway to Alta Vista I still don’t know the name of (there’s no signage).
I don’t know whether this might work, but when you reach the nameless street, look at Google Maps on your phone and see if it provides a name. Take a screen shot of that and keep it for future reference in a special folder titled “Mystery Streets.”
Rizal Extension
I finally got curious about who this “Rizal” was. Wikipedia to the rescue:
José Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda (Spanish: [xoˈse riˈsal, -ˈθal], Tagalog: [hoˈse ɾiˈsal]; June 19, 1861 – December 30, 1896) was a Filipino nationalist, writer and polymath active at the end of the Spanish colonial period of the Philippines. He is considered a national hero (pambansang bayani) of the Philippines. An ophthalmologist by profession, Rizal became a writer and a key member of the Filipino Propaganda Movement, which advocated political reforms for the colony under Spain.
He was executed by the Spanish colonial government for the crime of rebellion after the Philippine Revolution broke out; it was inspired by his writings. Though he was not actively involved in its planning or conduct, he ultimately approved of its goals which eventually resulted in Philippine independence.
Rizal is widely considered one of the greatest heroes of the Philippines and has been recommended to be so honored by an officially empaneled National Heroes Committee. However, no law, executive order or proclamation has been enacted or issued officially proclaiming any Filipino historical figure as a national hero. He wrote the novels Noli Me Tángere (1887) and El filibusterismo (1891), which together are taken as a national epic, in addition to numerous poems and essays.
So there you have it: inspirer of a rebellion and unofficial national hero.
Then Gomez Extension
Another name! So who is this Gomez? I see a martyred priest named Mariano Gomez, and there’s an actor-turned-politician named Richard Gomez. I’m betting on the priest, but I’ll leave that for you to confirm.
Me and the boys on the morning dog walk
Shirt looks vaguely familiar. And you’re out with both dogs! So for Lucky, all is forgiven, I guess. Okay, then!
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 12/February/2024 @ 5:27 pm