Comments Posted By Kevin Kim
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Are we basically looking at pneumonia here? Pneumonia comes in at least three flavors: bacterial, viral, and fungal. The symptoms/effects are roughly the same: inflammation of the lungs’ alveoli, which also fill with fluid, making it hard to breathe and hard for blood to oxygenate (it’s in the alveoli that oxygenation occurs). Antibiotics work only against bacterial pneumonia, not against viral or fungal. With the PI’s tropical climate, fungal is a big possibility.
I watched the preview trailers for “Keep Breathing” and “Beef.” “Keep Breathing” looks as if it has some potential, but “Beef” turned me off right away: neither main character strikes me as likable. And if I want to see East Asians fighting each other, all I need to do is take a walk down the street. Koreans love conflict; if they can’t find it, they’ll manufacture it.
I hope your docs know what they’re doing regarding your lungs. I’m beginning to think that the timing of all this sucks, and you’re not going to get clearance for your nasal surgery until the pulmonary thing resolves itself (which is probably for the best).
But I see you’re well enough to be baking brownies.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 17/November/2023 @ 5:00 pm
Has there been any talk about the possibility/prospect of infection in the lungs as a result of all that mucus just sitting there? Sorry, but I can’t remember whether you’re also taking antibiotics.
A quote from Alan Watts! The guy was a philandering shit and an inveterate druggie who dropped acid at Buddhist temples, but he was an articulate exponent of Zen Buddhism and the Eastern mindset, not to mention a fantastic writer. You can find videos with Watts’s recorded lectures on YouTube.
Here’s a good, short one.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 16/November/2023 @ 5:50 pm
Why do I think you’re incurious? We can start with the lack of interest in foreign foods, especially as evinced during your recent trip to Thailand. Despite talking often about traveling, it rarely seems to happen except once in a blue moon. On a more personal note, you’ve said that you read back 24 hours on my blog to make sure you’ve missed nothing, but the lack of reaction to two of the movie reviews I’d schedule-published during my walk (here and here) seems to indicate you couldn’t be bothered to check back for them.* I’m not incensed about that or anything; it’s just that you normally react right away to movie reviews, so it’s noticeable when you don’t, and at a guess, it’s because you missed they were even there. (Thanks for the latest reaction, by the way.)
But as I said, I think these thoughts are falling on deaf ears. You’ve got your default routine, and that’s enough.
Your commenter Goldberg suggested Kabbalah study. That would require a massive retooling of your truncated attention span, but it would be amazing to behold if you did actually embark on such an effort.
__________
*I’ll give you a pass for missing my “The Equalizer 3” review because you were writing about severe breathing problems at the time. Your lungs obviously come first.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 16/November/2023 @ 1:23 pm
What happens when I’m unconscious on my back with a tube down my throat?
With a tube down your throat, at least your airway won’t be blocked! That said, your breathing and lethargy issues are concerning, and those things need to be brought up at your next consultation, whenever that might be.
My view upon boarding the raft
Beautiful shot.
I’ve got lots of time to think and plenty to think about.
Dude, you’re a good fella, but you’re one of the most incurious people I know (unless you’re wondering what’s under a twenty-something’s dress). Why not create projects and set goals for yourself? Are there classes you can take & new things to learn? Of course there are. Are there places to visit, with new things to see and eat? You’re in the Philippines, for God’s sakes, so there’s got to be a million things you could be doing. Satisfaction and contentment can be covers for sheer laziness and inertia—the acceptance that one is in a rut, with no inclination of ever getting out of it. That’s how you end up in bed and dead.
I know you’re going through a rough patch with breathing & energy problems right now, but maybe use this down time to formulate some “When I get back on my feet” plans. There’s a whole life to be lived, and it’s not just goddamn bars. The longer you remain inert, the more likely it is, later on, that you’ll have regrets of the “I could’ve done this” or “I could’ve seen that” sort. I’ve long respected your choice to be a Hasher—I think routine walking is an excellent activity that gets you out and about. But that other half of your life just seems to be about drinking your life away, and while there’s nothing inherently wrong with downing a cold one (or several) and socializing with friends (paid or unpaid), you’re racking up a huge opportunity cost full of would’ves, could’ves, and should’ves.
I realize this all probably falls on deaf ears. If you’ve trained yourself to be incurious over the years, it’s probably too late to overcome that conditioning.
My brothers went to the same high school I did. Unlike me, they both studied music. There was a music teacher there at the time named Miss Kervick (spelling?). She was a big advocate for not being a mere parasite, a mere consumer of culture. Be a producer of culture, she’d say in her speeches to the audience before an orchestral performance. “Be a producer” can be interpreted in different ways, but she was essentially telling us not merely to be passive, but to be active, curious, and working toward self-fulfillment. Don’t just listen to music: make music. To your credit, you’ve got this blog, which is one way to produce and not merely consume. But what else can you be doing to continue to learn and grow? Take up painting? Plan and execute a long hike or a food tour? Become a video content creator? Write a book based on the insights you gained while working in HR?
The sky’s the limit.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 15/November/2023 @ 5:13 pm
Memento mori, eh?
It’s sad to hear you’re down to such a low capacity. A friend of mine in the States is around 80 and is suffering from congestive heart failure. Has been for years. He measures his (indoor) walks in mere yards. Going from the living room to the kitchen is an adventure. At least you’re not quite there yet.
One of the things I like about staircase training (as much as I hate the training itself) is that it strengthens the heart. When I was in the hospital for my stroke, the docs did an ultrasound of my chest and determined I had a weak heart—another reason to engage in cardio/aerobic activity. Intensity matters because it means deeper breathing and a harder-working heart. It’s also a way to lower blood sugar (and thus insulin spikes).
Did Dr. Jo say anything to you about COPD? Inquiring minds want to know.
Anyway, if you see yourself on a road to recovery, well, that’s a good thing. Take it slow, keep at it, and get back into fighting shape.
I imagine it’s nice to no longer be the possessor of the Hashit.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 14/November/2023 @ 5:34 pm
Sorry about the comma stutter. I was typing on my phone, and for whatever reason, the cursor wasn’t showing up in your comment window, making it hard for me to figure out where to type (I have to add HTML to do italics & stuff, which means skipping around the text to place HTML tags; it’s hard to skip around with no cursor to see where you’re at).
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 13/November/2023 @ 6:28 pm
From breathing to lethargy. Out of the frying pan…
Get well soon, keep practicing the pursed-lip breathing, and maybe try some aerobic work to get you breathing more deeply.
As Morrie says in Tuesdays with Morrie,, “When you’re in bed, you’re dead.”
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 13/November/2023 @ 4:02 pm
Scary stuff. I hope you arrive at a resolution soon. I imagine that, for a lot of us, drowning or suffocating is one of the ultimate nightmares. A quick search on increasing lung capacity for COPD patients shows many recommendations for aerobic exercise. So: not just walking but intense walking, preferably up hills. Got any tall towers or buildings where you can do some staircase work?
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 12/November/2023 @ 4:58 pm
“Where can I grab a beer in Barretto?”
Nice tour of all the bars I’ll have no desire ever to visit. I assume some blog reader will appreciate the information, though, so hats off for the public service.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 12/November/2023 @ 1:49 am
No, I’m sure Lucky is trainable. Those (and other) videos show some hard-case dogs, and they all eventually respond to training. I think that, if you’re going to keep him, you need to train him. That, or dispose of him—however you choose to interpret “dispose.”
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 11/November/2023 @ 10:57 am
I decided to give Lucky another chance, and he has now blown it.
To me, “now blown it” means “his ass is gone.” I’m surprised you’re keeping Lucky at all. Are you sure you won’t consider doing some of the obedience training from the videos I’d recommended? The current solution feels like kicking the can down the road, not a real solution. I say either train him right so he really knows who’s boss (he obviously doesn’t know) or give him to a shelter. How’d he end up on your bed, anyway? That’s a privileged spot for a dog who’s supposedly in the dog house.
The continuing breathing problems are worrisome. I hope you see the docs and get that sorted out soon, especially with a possible operation in the works. In response to something you wrote in a different comment thread: yes, I remember being there in the Itaewon area when that hill winded you. But you really improved after that, and you improved even more once you moved to the PI. I do hope it’s not COPD; I’ve mentioned before how scary it was to find out about Leonard Nimoy’s having succumbed to it a full twenty years after he’d quit smoking. That shit just sits and bides its time.
That clock showing the days of the week can’t show you when it’s beer o’clock, alas. I guess you need a second clock for that.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 10/November/2023 @ 6:31 pm
Breathing problems are scary. While my bout with COVID was mostly okay, there was one night where, every time I started falling asleep, I seemed to stop breathing. The fear of suffocating while in that state of semiconsciousness kept me awake the whole night. Luckily, that was the only night where that happened. All of which is to say: I can relate. I hope I don’t come off sounding like Biden comforting Hawaiians by talking about a minor kitchen fire.
I had to look up what Zumba dancing was. And now I know.
Continued good luck with your diet (cut way down on the beer!), and good luck as you deal with those pulmonary issues.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 09/November/2023 @ 6:50 pm
Well, if you insist on having those paid, superficial, artificial transactions with the bar ladies, yeah, something awkward like that can happen, and instead of artificial consequences, you can enjoy real consequences for your trouble.
You won’t learn until you learn, I guess. I keep hoping you’ll step out of the bar bubble and into real life. But habits are hard to break, and fantasy worlds are seductive. Ask any gamer.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 08/November/2023 @ 7:47 pm
Naughty or not, breffus looks good.
So how does one score a high-end room at the Orchid? To avoid future quality issues, I mean.
I look forward to your two-fer.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 08/November/2023 @ 5:54 am
Sorry to hear about the pulmonary issues. I hope that clears up before you undergo surgery. The timing isn’t exactly great.
I like the new shirt. Is that a carabao done up in German clothing?
Swan’s friend looks almost as if she could pass for Korean.
Hope the second Hash went well.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 06/November/2023 @ 10:29 pm
I was born in the City of Angels
re: Avogadro pun
Google “Avogadro’s number,” and you will have your answer.
re: cell phones at dinner
I’m on my phone when I’m eating alone (like right now), but when there’s company, I never do that. Tacky.
re: coughing/wheezing
Yikes. You gonna be okay Hashing like that? Anyway, good luck with that. May the trail be to your liking.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 05/November/2023 @ 6:09 pm
Goldberg,
John’s had no trouble in the getting-laid department. If anything, his conjugal success has led some of us commenters (well, me, anyway) to question his priorities. But for the past several months, John has been working on a project: an exclusive and hopefully deep relationship. So this new commitment has meant no poonie on the side (so far as we know). Trouble is, the object of John’s affection is turning out to be a bit of a cold cucumber, hence the passage about drinking and singing sad songs while the ladies watch TV in the next room. John’s been hoping that the cold-cucumber thing will lift like a fog after his funny little honey is through with a year of mourning for her previous love, but we’ll see whether the fog actually lifts.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 04/November/2023 @ 9:42 pm
I’m morbidly curious: just how slow is your heart? Like “I’m an Olympic athlete” slow, or “I’m an undead vampire” slow? I’ve had resting heart rates in the 80s and 90s when I’ve been in a health slump. If I’m lucky, like right now thanks to my walk, my resting heart rate drops to the 70s.
Anyway, the need for more testing sucks, but I’ll charitably assume it’s for your safety and not just bureaucracy spinning its wheels.
Good luck with the new Merrells and with Angeles City.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 04/November/2023 @ 3:52 pm
Good luck with your medical shit.
What’s Swan going to do at the Hash if she’s not planning to Hash? She just there for moral support? Hm.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 03/November/2023 @ 6:11 pm
The clouds in all of today’s photos are very impressive. Philippine weather is something.
Sorry to hear you’re having to exercise so much caution. I hope things improve over the coming weeks, especially regarding polyps and sciatica.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 02/November/2023 @ 6:17 pm
Well $6500 is undoubtedly better than the tens of thousands you’d be charged in the States by our leftism-enhanced medical system. And the lack of polyps will pay for itself pretty quickly, I think. After you heal from surgery, your quality of life will be radically better. Fingers and tentacles crossed.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 02/November/2023 @ 10:02 am
I was planning to write about camera techniques for conveying a sense of incline, but you seem to be using them. Basically, put the top of the slope at the top of the picture when you’re going up (i.e., tilt your camera down), and do the opposite to accentuate downhills. It’s not the greatest method, but it helps a bit.
Good walk. Also, good luck with appointments and, eventually, surgery.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 31/October/2023 @ 10:40 pm
Whoops:
hell of *a* thing
D’oh.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 30/October/2023 @ 4:20 pm
re: breffus
That looked to be a mighty fine breakfast.
re: being too drunk to remember
Careful. Drinking too much is never a good thing, and the older you get, the more likely people are to try to take advantage of you. To paraphrase Dean Wormer from “Animal House”: old, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life.
By, the way, that $50,000 inheritance we discussed… I’m sure you remember it…
re: Hash and La Union
I’m glad it was a good Hash, and it’s good to contemplate other life-possibilities. Is there a local version of Dr. Jo, though?
re: Tom Hardy quote
While I’m not a misanthrope (yet), I can do without most people. I’m not needy for company, but some folks are attracted to others like moths to a flame. Good for them, I guess; there are benefits to togetherness that we loners will never know. But I prefer not being too dependent on others. It limits freedom.
re: feeling shitty
Hell of thing to happen right when you get back home. Get well soon!
re: weight
Congrats, but just so we’re clear, that’s mostly water weight. Any diet takes off 10 pounds in the first week. Keep the 10 pounds off and keep losing, and that weight will be the fat.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 30/October/2023 @ 2:36 pm
Really nice pics of the sunset. Seems to have been a good walk. Would you say it was a worthwhile trip overall?
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 29/October/2023 @ 4:14 pm
re: fresh fish
Won’t be fresh for long in that weather. Buy it before it rots!
re: rearing horse
I see a donkey gesturing during a speech. Symbolism?
The room looks nice despite the dangerous bathroom. Good luck with the Hash. Here’s hoping the leg holds up.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 29/October/2023 @ 1:40 am
Sorry about the frustrations, but I have to admire the thoroughness. Korean doctors rarely talk to you for more than 5 minutes, maybe 10 on rare occasions. Good to know there’s some information about the sciatica. I wonder what therapy will involve—back stretches to separate the vertebrae?
That French toast did look really good. But if you’re gonna go for something that carby, you may as well go all in and get the syrup. Otherwise, it’s like ordering a McDonald’s Big Mac value meal with a Diet Coke. What’s the point? You’re already going over the cliff. Get the regular Coke.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 27/October/2023 @ 1:17 pm
Good walk! I’ll be curious to read about your medical news.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 26/October/2023 @ 3:42 pm
Good luck with your appointments. My MRI after my stroke was long and loud—about thirty minutes in the tube. They gave me a radioactive dye before I went into the machine; I could feel it coursing through my blood vessels.
I’m sure your polyp-removal operation will go well. It sounds as if everyone is taking extra precautions. Just don’t be a bleeder.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 25/October/2023 @ 8:28 pm
«« Back To Stats PageDr. Sten Ekberg on insulin and intermittent fasting.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 24/October/2023 @ 11:35 pm