Comments Posted By Kevin Kim
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He stopped at Waltermart and said he wasn’t going further (our group were the only passengers). We argued and offered to pay an extra 100 pesos to take us the two kilometers to Philseco Road, but the driver wouldn’t budge.
What a dick. Can you report a guy who won’t finish his route?
Laundry day
I guess the clothes on the ground will have to be rewashed.
The Subic marketplace
Tacky American pennants or Tibetan prayer flags?
It’s probably been ten years since I last enjoyed my favorite sandwich–the Monte Cristo. This one was good
Looks good, but my own preference is for the sandwich to be batter-fried and sprinkled with confectioner’s sugar—nice and unhealthy. This one looks to have been rolled in bread crumbs and then fried. I’d eat that, but it’s not my #1 preference.
Anyhoo, got the party on the roof coming up later today.
Good luck with the party.
There are some things I need to do so the people I leave behind are overly burdened by my passing.
I think your negation ran away.
May your chili be robust, and may your muffins be lickable.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 18/April/2024 @ 6:09 pm
but the real motivation was that one of my upper molars has been hurting. I don’t like pain generally, but a toothache is about the worst for me. Dr. Barrera is the best in town and is very popular with the expat community.
Probably a good thing. Your teeth are remarkably close to your brain, and certain gum infections and tooth problems can wreak havoc on you cognitively if not taken care of. I need to get my own teeth checked, and soon.
So, we were once again ensconced in our favorite seats at the bar.
That “Ha ha! We did that!” look on her face. James Thurber might’ve called that the “catbird seat” look.
Counseling wayward employees was part of the job.
This is a rude-asshole question, I realize, but… were you coloring your hair seven years ago, or did you just go gray that fast? Feel free not to answer and to tell me to fuck off. But I’m curious, maybe for selfish reasons because it won’t be long before I tumble over the same cliff’s edge. For the moment, despite being the eldest of three siblings, I’m the least gray of the three of us brothers, and (taking after my dad) I never color my hair.
May your time at the bar prove educational.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 17/April/2024 @ 6:34 pm
Only if you’re doing the hokey-pokey.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 17/April/2024 @ 10:51 pm
Sure enough: a path can be tortuous. But “each step”? Maybe if you wiggle your feet with each step.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 17/April/2024 @ 2:50 pm
Even when I was back on flat ground for the walk to the On-Home, each step was tortuous.
I think we’ve been through this before.
tortuous = full of twists and turns (Ltn. tortus, twisting/winding)
torturous = causing or feeling like torture (with a 2nd “r”)Our journey began with a highway walk
Yeesh, that ditch on the left. We have those in Korea, and when you’re tired and trapped between that ditch and the traffic, it ain’t that comfortable.
When the steps ended, the climb got more challenging.
Yikes, and this is the UNchallenging route?
Looks to have been a good walk. Best of luck with the doc.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 16/April/2024 @ 5:44 pm
There were a few dead ends and kid-less streets, but in the end, we found them!
But what noun is the “them” at the end replacing? The “kid” in “kidless” is part of an adjective, and you’re not saying you found dead ends or streets. A pronoun replaces a noun.
Word spreads fast
This might sound racist at first, but it’s not meant to be. Ever heard of the Hundredth Monkey Effect? It’s been debunked, but it held sway for a while.
The ten contestants.
All pretty. At least one has that cocker-spaniel hairstyle that was popular in Korea through the early 2000s (straight hair on top, wavy down the sides of the head).
Number 5
Lookin’ a little pudgy! And if that’s our standard for the ladies, imagine what they think of our fat asses.
Screw that!
Prince wrote a joke in one of his songs for the 1989 “Batman” movie. The song was called “Vicki Waiting”:
I told the joke about the woman
Who asked her lover, “Why is your organ so small?”
He replied, “I didn’t know I was playing in a cathedral”
Vicki didn’t laugh at allGood luck with today’s Hash.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 15/April/2024 @ 5:22 pm
Good to see the charity out there doing its thing. How many kids do you think got looked at? Dozens? Hundreds?
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 14/April/2024 @ 5:19 pm
A brief passage through the dead zone
Lovely image of road, mountains, and sky.
A riverside community
Also very nice.
Roadblock ahead. We went under it.
At times like that, I wish lightsabers were real.
I don’t see the resemblance…
I think you’ve got the classic white-guy beer belly: round abdomen, flat ass. Usually a sign of beer drinking, and almost always seen on ex-military (you’re not military, but you’re close enough… for government work). People like me, the ones who eat too much, are fat all over (upper arms, thighs, man-boobs, butt, etc.), but beer drinkers reveal their habits by having bizarrely specific bellies.
Is it cool to cum first?
Maybe it’s better to cum together.
Continued good luck with the weight loss! As always, there will be ups and downs. It’s a lifelong struggle.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 13/April/2024 @ 5:43 pm
Creative painting on a wall along the highway
Nice to see the beautiful murals.
All my posts must sound like Ground Hog Day.
I’ve never heard of a “ground hog.” Is that like a “groundhog”? Seriously, “ground hog” is, in fact, a legitimate spelling (I checked), but the movie’s title is spelled only one way.
Best aspect of this post: all the Volkskunst. Kind of rare on your blog.
If you’re okay with your routine, then there’s nothing to apologize for. If, on the other hand, you wanna go out and do something different, but you never do, then nuthin’s stopping you from breaking the cycle.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 12/April/2024 @ 11:03 pm
I think Drain Snake’s first comment wins Comment of the Day.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 12/April/2024 @ 1:40 pm
Congrats to Aine on her new beau. May he lift her out of her current life and show her something better.
Nice walk pics, as always.
Korea definitely has a pollution problem. It’s sad and so easy to avoid. File this under “how to turn a conservative into an environmentalist.”
re: old-boy retirement community
I bet there’s a biological underpinning for such gender-split behavior.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 11/April/2024 @ 6:50 pm
I can do one without the other
Congrats on the weight loss and the good numbers! Yeah, bananas and mangoes are among the worst for you by keto standards: so much sugar. The best fruits are berries—cherries, raspberries, blackberries, etc.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 10/April/2024 @ 8:47 pm
Thanks for the shout-out. And a shout-out to the ladies for a good, strenuous route.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 09/April/2024 @ 11:52 pm
Rolling on through another day
Coulda sworn I’d written a comment here. Guess I forgot to hit “publish.” Sorry ’bout that.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 09/April/2024 @ 7:03 am
A come to Jesus moment
Looks as if Jesus has taken over for Yoda.
Back across Bridge #1
Bridge #1 looks kind of pitted and dangerous.
He pointed at the black pack, and I said, “Anio, silver.”
The Korean word for “silver” is eun-saek/은색.
Apparently, it’s “sil-buh.” Who knew?
Usually the pronunciation rule is that, if an “s” sound comes before an “ee” or “ih” sound, the “s” becomes an “sh,” so “shil-buh.” Ask a Korean to say “A-B-C,” and he’ll say “Ey, Bee, Shee.”
I can’t remember if I used this song before or not. Either way, I guess it is worth hearing again.
You did, and I responded with this.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 08/April/2024 @ 2:26 am
Season 2 might be a year or so. Animation is slow work.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 07/April/2024 @ 2:49 pm
I almost forgot: have you given up on “Blue Eye Samurai”? You’re obviously not bingeing it as avidly as “Shameless.” Sorry if it’s not your cup of tea.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 07/April/2024 @ 5:55 am
All this talk of falls makes me pine for the Giessbach Falls (Giessbachfälle) in Switzerland. I encountered those falls while hiking around Lake Brienz (Brienzersee) in 1989 with classmates, and in 1991 (with my brother David).
Helen rafted across on some bamboo poles that were floating nearby.
So she made use of a fallen bridge, did she?
Ed swam across
I guess you guys never worry about weird water-amoebas crawling into your brain, eh? Nice to know the water’s clean.
Friendly locals, as usual
The one local appears to be in “Hey, baby” mode.
I’m curious about the story behind this massive building that was abandoned prior to completion many years ago. That’s a lot of wasted money!
If you have an app that allows you to record your GPS coordinates (maybe Google Maps? I’ve never checked), you can put a “map pin” or geotag on those coordinates, then perhaps look up the building and its history later. You can also type “identify building with image” into Google and learn a few ways to suss out local structures.
Nice to meet you, Stan
Just for a brief fraction of a second, I thought you’d finally met Satan.
I was reminded that yesterday was the thirteenth anniversary of my marriage to Jee Yeun.
One day, you’ll finally see your way clear to getting a divorce so you never have to have that, “Swan, technically, I’m married” conversation. The longer you delay, the worse it’s gonna be.
Nine years ago[,] I had a meet-up
Time flies. Hard to believe it’s been nearly a decade. I’ve only gotten older and uglier since then.
Finding a place to park was a bitch, and for some reason, they had blocked off Gothard street with a single barrier saying “road closed”.
Spot the error that’s not an error in British English!
Well, it looks to have been a good walk and, I guess, a good SOB event. I’d never attend one of those, but hey, whatever floats your boat.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 06/April/2024 @ 7:11 pm
A journey that ended in Alaska
When Swan arrived we moved out to the rooftop
And she’s with a guy! Did you slap him with your armored gauntlet and issue a manly challenge?
Me and my gal
I hope we can see more of this normal smile instead of that weird, puffy-lipped nonsense that creeps into so many selfies.
The surgery went well, and he had high praise for the newly reopened hospital in Barretto. I was especially glad to hear that. Hopefully, there will be no more trips to Baypointe, and while I don’t ever want to need an emergency room nearby, I’m glad we have one.
Good news on both the Jerry front and the hospital front.
re: Riker asks for a little pussy
Well, if the Enterprise’s replicators can replicate a cat, they can also replicate a Fleshlight. Let Riker seduce that.
re: Chekov
A lot of people got after actor Walter Koenig for his version of a “Russian” accent, turning his “V”s into “W”s (e.g., “nuclear wessels” in Star Trek IV). In reality, Russian has plenty of “V” sounds, from “Soviet” to “Ivan.” Koenig later insisted he’d modeled his accent off his father’s Russian accent (I’ve also heard “Ukrainian relative”), so I don’t know what’s going on. Russia’s a huge country, of course, so there probably isn’t just one “Russian accent” any more than there’s just one “American accent.” And think of the Spanish Me llamo (“My name is”) which, depending on the dialect, can be pronounced “mey-YAH-moh” or “mey-JAH-moh.”
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 05/April/2024 @ 6:37 pm
our out-of-town hike in Cawag
Sounds like a place in Ireland or Scotland.
Up we go
Another one of them steep-ass hills. Yeesh. I’d have to switchback up that.
A shady grove
On the DC Metro’s Red Line, there’s a stop called “Shady Grove.” It’s the northwestern terminus.
Nice to see you again, Onelia!
She has the benevolent look of a gentle mountain spirit. Nothing like the austere mountain spirits (山神/sanshin/산신) here in Korea.
The[n] I paid a visit to It Doesn’t Matter. I had a couple more there, and then I decided to give Roadhouse a try. I guess I just wasn’t feeling it, so I caught a trike for home.
I’m not clear on whether you actually visited Roadhouse. You decided to give it a try… but you weren’t feeling it, so you went home? Or you got to Roadhouse, didn’t dig the vibe, then went home?
re: Build Back Better
I’ve never been convinced that that’s grammatical. If, say, a school or a temple were to burn down here, I doubt I’d say the community would “build it back.” More likely, I’d say they’d “build it back up.” I can understand leaving the “up” out of the slogan, though, because it would be less alliterative and thus less catchy. But it still sounds vaguely illiterate to me.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 04/April/2024 @ 6:45 pm
I don’t have a clue regarding the “giant lanterns.”
I see that they’re a local basketball team.
my buddy Chris and his gal Shie
Is Shie pronounced “shee,” “shy,” “shee-ey,” or something else?
Sorry to hear about the “cursed” evening. Maybe God is telling you to stop bar-hopping. And sorry to hear about the worse-than-usual heat, but this is, after all, what you signed up for. Enjoy!
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 03/April/2024 @ 5:58 pm
Nice pics of another impossibly steep-looking walk.
re: farting while sleeping
A human fart is actually a metafart: it’s the accumulated gaseous emissions of the billions of bacteria at work in the intestines. They fart; the gas builds up; the gas eventually comes out. And I guess that only gets worse as people get older.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 02/April/2024 @ 7:35 pm
Most people seemed to get it. One person asked how many girlfriends I have. I wondered where that came from until I re-read my post and caught the ambiguity of “I can’t remember which one.”
Multiple girlfriends was my first thought, too. That error is called an “ambiguous pronoun reference.”
Good luck with the day’s Hash.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 01/April/2024 @ 4:32 pm
A skilled craftsman at work
I might want to hang out with that guy. That’s awesome.
More evidence that signs don’t work
It’s like in the US, when you see piles of trash around “No littering!” signs, or in Korea, when you see hundreds of cigarette butts around “No smoking!” signs.
Across the highway to a new neighborhood
It occurs to me that I’ve heard nightmare stories coming out of India, where Good-Samaritan behavior can get you mobbed by the village the moment people hear you’re distributing goodies or coins or whatever.
This has been a dead Easter for me. I’m still unsure about having some hair of the dog that bit me, but I will probably have a couple with dinner. We’ll see how I feel later.
The solution to governmental problems is more government, and by the same token, the solution to alcohol-related problems is… more alcohol! Some of us are just monkeys lolling about on fermented fruit, I guess.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 31/March/2024 @ 5:48 pm
Sure enough, it looks like Jim is thinking about taking the quick way down.
Jim’s right arm is huge.
Nice pics of the trail, the beach, the food, and the bloody self-flagellators.
My buddy Tom took a look at your blog at dinner this evening when I whipped my phone out. He’s apparently been at the top of Black Rock himself, and he saw lots of other things, in your photos, that were familiar to him.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 30/March/2024 @ 11:59 pm
Did Grammarly understand that you were addressing November directly? Probably not, so there’s the problem. And whether it’s “Hurry, November” or “Hurry up, November,” you still need the vocative comma.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 30/March/2024 @ 10:52 pm
Yeah, since you’re addressing the month of November directly, you need what’s called a vocative comma. Such commas work like this:
Yes, sir. Yes, ma’am.
I’m sorry, Dave.
Fred, you’re one of a kind.Or consider the classic vocative-comma poster, which says:
Let’s eat Grandpa!
Let’s eat, Grandpa!
Commas save lives!So: “Hurry up November,” without the vocative comma, sounds as if you’re telling others to somehow accelerate the arrival of November. “Hurry up, November!” means you’re addressing November directly, enjoining it to come quickly.
All they say on Battlestar Galactica, “All of this has happened before and will happen again.”
Also: see this post.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 30/March/2024 @ 2:26 pm
Swan is still doing her meat distributor business. She takes orders, the wholesaler delivers the goods (from Angeles, I think), and then she goes around town making deliveries.
Is she still also working at that bar? How’s business?
Nobody doesn’t better than you, Joe!
I assume the “doesn’t” is on purpose. If so, I’ve never seen that joke before.
Hurry November!
What’s missing?
Well, enjoy all that lovely heat. Better you than me. Although Korea’s time is coming. Man, fuck summer.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 29/March/2024 @ 7:16 pm
She did say we should start earlier in the morning when it is not so hot.
Walking in the early morning is its own reward. Just be careful on those mountain trails when the light is low.
re: Fitbit
Over 3,000 calories for 6K of walking seems a bit excessive. But I think you mentioned that the caloric measurement was for the whole day, yes?
Our destination awaits
That slope just gets steeper and steeper as you approach the summit, doesn’t it?
Inday and Swan push on while Scott takes a needed break.
That part looks really steep. Do you think the slope angle got as far as 45 degrees?
It got a little rocky in places
That looks like 45 degrees for sure. I guess you ascend by switchbacking…?
The Rite Spot On The Roof isn’t so right in the rain. I thought the cover would be enough, but with the wind blowing the rain sideways, not so much.
You might have to shell out for some tarp-like “walls.”
And then a muted sunset as the storm raged on
Looks as if you wandered into the desert scene in “Blade Runner 2049.”
Anyway, I guess you could say we got rode hard and put up wet. Still, I’m happy for the experience.
Hard and wet is about all you can ask for in this life.
If I recall correctly, those flowers are gaenalee.
I think gaenari are forsythias.
Anyway, life is good. I’m glad to be feeling healthy again. Haven’t even needed my nebulizer lately.
Do you think the new meds helped you get past whatever that earlier problem was, or are you still on the meds?
Anyway, it seems to have been a good, vigorous hike.
Question: do all the locals call that mountain “Easter Mountain”? If they call it that, why doesn’t it have a path with, say, the Stations of the Cross on it? Or at least one shrine dedicated to the Blessed Virgin? Just curious.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 28/March/2024 @ 6:35 pm
«« Back To Stats PageFirst and foremost, my sympathies to Jerry. The humerus, eh? So at a guess, he landed on his side and broke his arm, which was under his body at the moment of impact. That sucks; the humerus is a large bone. I can’t imagine the pain. And he really injured nothing else? Lucky fellow.
Second: the grammar jokes. There’s only one that I disagree with: the one about the subjunctive mood.
The subjunctive would have walked into a bar, had it only known.
That’s actually an if-conditional sentence, and there shouldn’t be a comma. Specifically, this is what is called “third conditional”: past perfect (had known), conditional past (would have walked). There’s no “if” because “had it” is inverted word order, but the “if” is implied.
If the tarantula had been hungry, it would have eaten the cricket.
Had the tarantula been hungry, it would have eaten the cricket. (inverted)For more on the subjunctive, see here. Examples of the subjunctive mood:
It’s important that you be here by five.
We suggest that she use caution.
…for fear that he leave too soon.As for what “third conditional” means: it refers to the third of three conditional-sentence scenarios, each with its own set of tenses.
1st conditional: (if) present → present/future (probable event)
If Batman comes tonight, he’ll regret it.
If it rains, I’ll grab my umbrella.2nd conditional: (if) past → conditional (imaginary/unreal event/situation)
If I were king, I would hold orgies every Tuesday.
If your mom had testicles, she’d be your dad.3rd conditional: (if) past perfect → conditional past (alternate past)
If you hadn’t blasted diarrhea everywhere, the sex would’ve been far less entertaining.Also of interest:
A malapropism walks into a bar, looking for all intents and purposes like a wolf in cheap clothing, muttering epitaphs and casting dispersions on his magnificent other, who takes him for granite.
They missed a chance to write “for all intensive purposes.” Aside from that, could you rewrite the sentence without malapropisms?
Then there’s this:
Falling slowly, softly falling, the chiasmus collapses to the bar floor.
Chiasmus is an interesting one. You pair up two phrases or turns of phrase that are something like mirror images of each other to make a point.
We won’t have to look for work, and it won’t have to look for us.
Pleasure’s a sin, and sometimes sin’s a pleasure. (Byron)
Eat to live; live to eat.
I may be as bad as the worst, but, thank God, I am as good as the best. (Whitman)re: Redneck Love Poem
It’s all about the inbreds. Least there warn’t nobody wit’ six fangers.
re: the “I don’t like sand” meme
That’s the best Anakin/Padmé meme I’ve seen so far! Love it.
There is a rooster farm across the river from me, and I hear them screeching every morning. Oddly enough, unlike dog barking, I’m used to it now; it is just background noise that doesn’t bother me much.
I guess that’s better than the screaming of the lambs. Oh, and: “rooster farm” uses “rooster” as an adjective modifying “farm,” so you can’t say “they” as a pronoun to replace “rooster.” Possible rewrite:
There is a rooster farm across the river from me, and I hear the birds screeching every morning.
I look forward to reading about the Easter Mountain hike.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 27/March/2024 @ 8:36 pm