Comments Posted By Kevin Kim
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I don’t know how to judge what counts as alcoholic since I don’t drink, but you’ve recently written about a couple blackouts, and you were having trouble figuring out how to moderate the gin, so to my mind, that’s a truck without brakes going over a cliff. I can’t say this is AUD (a concept I haven’t studied in depth, anyway), but it sure doesn’t sound like moderate drinking.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 04/April/2023 @ 6:47 pm
Of the ladies you know, Aine is easily the best looking to me. And she seems nice.
Whatever I might say about your “love” life, I have mucho respect for all the hill-climbing you do. As you know, I’m a big believer in staircase training, but a steep hill is just as good if not better (given how it helps one develop balance).
I typed “pulmonary implications of gin consumption” into Google, and a few results came up about alcohol’s effect on the lungs. Too many links to note here, but I’ll quote from the first link, which is from the National Institutes of Health:
It has long been known that people with alcohol use disorder (AUD) not only may develop physical dependence but also may experience devastating long-term health problems. The most common and identifiable alcohol-associated health problems include liver cirrhosis, pancreatitis, cardiomyopathies, neuropathies, and dementia. However, the lung also is adversely affected by alcohol abuse, a fact often overlooked by clinicians and the public. Individuals with AUD are more likely to develop pneumonia, tuberculosis (TB), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection, and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Increased susceptibility to these and other pulmonary infections is caused by impaired immune responses in people with AUD.
Next time you see your docs, give them an honest rundown of your drinking habits, ask them whether they think you might have AUD (if you don’t, then the above paragraph is probably irrelevant), and be sure to ask their opinion of whether stopping gin might increase lung performance. I assume the stoppage of gin is the only significant change in a constellation of variables in your life, which is why you’re thinking the gin might be connected to the lungs. I think that’s a reasonable assumption (I use the same sort of eliminative logic all the time for my various health issues), but it doesn’t hurt to consult with your docs, especially since you have such a comfortable relationship with them.
Another thing to ask is whether there’s a connection between COPD, ARDS, and AUD (or just good ol’ alcohol consumption, disordered or not). ARDS sounds as if it could be a consequence of COPD. I’m thinking specifically of either your trudging uphill or your receiving a “happy ending” at the end of a massage. It could be that COPD is the underlying condition, and ARDS is what you experience when you suddenly start gasping. Please check with your docs re: how these things are related.
Meantime, keep tromping up those hills.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 03/April/2023 @ 2:58 pm
Like sands through an hourglass…
This seems to be how you’re perceived though, so either embrace it…
Well, I guess I have to ding myself for a comma error. See where the error is?
Fuckups can be good teaching moments.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 02/April/2023 @ 6:40 pm
In the video of the accident, the guy who was bleeding profusely looked to be bleeding out of his head, but I guess he could have been bleeding out of his carotid artery (pumping blood = arterial bleed), with the blood flowing from the neck along the surface to his head, then dripping onto the floor. Then again, if the guy’s skull had cracked open, this could have been a direct bleed from the brain given that a person’s major neck arteries end up inside the brain (the brain itself pulsates with one’s heartbeat). Sorry to be morbid.
Well, the life of juggling women and paying for the fantasy has to be lived by someone, so here you are! Wouldn’t it be nice to find someone you can simply be with without worrying whether there’s some angle? How do the other expat guys do it? It’s obvious that finding true love or companionship is possible.
You keep coming back to that word “player,” chewing on it as if it were an unpleasant foreign object in your mouth, so I’m guessing it’s a label you don’t really like. This seems to be how you’re perceived though, so either embrace it (as you seem to be doing, albeit reluctantly) or act differently and present a New You. As Barbra Hambly wrote in the novel Children of the Jedi, “Be what you wish to seem.” In other words, if you want to seem a hero, then be a hero. If you want to seem like husband material, then be husband material. My high school’s motto says much the same thing: Esse non videri, “Being, not seeming.”
Anyway, whatever you do, it’s all good as long as you’re happy, however deep or shallow the concept of happiness is for you.
Some dance to remember
Some dance to forget» Posted By Kevin Kim On 02/April/2023 @ 6:36 pm
Calapacuan, Calapadayan… how do you keep the names straight?
Nice pics of the hike. Those two guys are fit and trim. They ex-military or just vegetarian (ha ha)? And Black Rock is looking quite inviting.
Love the pic of the fish and chips. Fish looks nicely breaded.
Sorry to hear about the guy in the Jeepney who died. It would make sense that it was the guy with the profusely bleeding head wound.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 01/April/2023 @ 5:13 pm
I wasn’t clear about this in the above comment, but there are apparently three main ways to receive anesthesia: (1) general, (2) regional, and (3) local. Based on the little research I did above, it seems the better choice would be regional or local, not general, for people with COPD.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 31/March/2023 @ 8:59 pm
Damn, all those vultures who swoop into the accident site with their cameras…
And that one dude inside the bus with the profusely bleeding head wound! I hope he got taken care of; he was literally bleeding out. From the pumping of the blood, I’d guess an arterial gash. In the head region, that’s double-plus ungood because the brain is arguably the organ in the body that requires the most blood to stay functional.
Yeah, when you’re on the road in the PI, it’s probably best not to think about all the things that can happen to a person. Jesus.
Good luck as you choose what sort of care you’ll be getting. If your consult with a bigger hospital concludes with their telling you that the polyp removal can be an outpatient procedure (local anesthesia), it’s probably best to choose that option. But while you’re talking to the bigger hospital, ask them their opinion of the inpatient procedure. If they see nothing wrong with going the inpatient route, then you might be okay just sticking with the local hospital. However…
I found this from the National Library of Medicine:
Retrospective data observed from various studies and case reports showed regional anesthesia (RA) to be [a] valid and safer option in the patients who are not good candidates of general anesthesia like patients having obstructive pulmonary diseases. It showed better postoperative patient outcome with respect to safety, efficacy, postoperative pulmonary complications, and analgesia.
The above was a paper about anesthesia and laparoscopic (abdominal) surgery, but the upshot is that COPD patients are probably better off with local anesthetic. So I think your intuition is right: things are more likely to go wrong if you’re put fully under. So I won’t take back what I said above re: getting the bigger hospital’s opinion on general anesthesia, but personally, I’m with you in leaning toward an outpatient procedure that uses local anesthetic. More research is necessary.
Healthline: COPD and Anesthesia
(also recommends local anesthesia)The stars seem to be aligning a certain way. Again, good luck.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 31/March/2023 @ 6:15 pm
Wow, it’s an inpatient procedure in the PI? Well, I’ll keep my fingers crossed.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 31/March/2023 @ 9:02 am
I hope the appointment went well, and that you’re now scheduled for an operation. Unblock the schnozz! Great pics of the hike; I’m glad it was so enjoyable, and it’s always good to see Scott out and about.
That driver should’ve known: that’s what happens when you go left.
Food pics all make me hungry. As usual.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 30/March/2023 @ 3:43 pm
Took a while for your blog to come up, but at least it showed up eventually. Here’s hoping the access gets smoother over the next week.
Rub the titties to invite the girl, eh? There’s some aboriginal culture out there where the men who meet each other on a path shake each other’s penises by way of greeting (maybe it’s this culture).
Pulled pork looks good. I’d probably want to order two, though.
Do avoid suffocating during your happy endings.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 29/March/2023 @ 4:42 pm
Chimichangas seem small, but at least there were two.
What’s wrong with the Hare aside from the trail?
The transitioning continues? Any idea on when it’ll be done?
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 28/March/2023 @ 5:08 pm
Is that supposed to be a corny sentiment?
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 27/March/2023 @ 2:10 pm
At the suggestion of a coworker, I solved my own US-phone-number problem by getting a “virtual cell-phone number.” I pay only a couple dollars a month to maintain it, and it makes life a lot easier as long as I remember that texted verification codes are going to the virtual number and not to my Korean cell-phone number. I forgot that one time and saw on the Chase website that “a code has been texted to ****0082.” Senile bastard that I was, I thought, “Who is fuck is 0082?” That was, of course, my virtual number. Duh. It took several texts before I realized what was going on. Jesus. I am my own worst enemy sometimes.
Here’s hoping you see this comment!
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 27/March/2023 @ 2:09 pm
Always sad to leave a longtime host, but if the customer service is shitty, well, bye-bye. Good luck with the new host.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 27/March/2023 @ 10:41 am
Glad you’re on the mend. At least you didn’t accidentally scrape off those monumental Brezhnev brows!
Yeah, if I see an Asian woman and learn her last name is Spanish… probably Filipina.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 26/March/2023 @ 7:25 pm
An SOB kicked my ass last night
John,
I’ve tried to answer your question on my blog.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 26/March/2023 @ 6:59 am
Doing your best Jeremy Clarkson impression in that first photo, I see.
Here’s hoping Mother Nature teaches you caution.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 25/March/2023 @ 6:14 pm
Ah, OK. I guess you displayed my comment while I was writing my second message.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 24/March/2023 @ 9:07 pm
Kory, thanks for the message. On my blog’s right-hand sidebar (you might have to scroll down a bit), I’ve left my email address for anyone to use if they want to contact me directly (in your case, via your wife’s email or whatever). Please feel free to do that next time you have a direct message for me. I appreciate the well-wishes.
And, hey, John—didn’t I leave you a comment, too? Maybe it didn’t go through. I was in a taxi when I was writing it.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 24/March/2023 @ 9:06 pm
I would have preferred a seat with a better water view
As opposed to the top of that guy’s ass crack.
Zuby is black, but he’s obviously a white supremacist.
That shot of John’s cheesesteak reveals the majesty of nature, and those beach shots look positively delicious, dripping with cheese as they are.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 24/March/2023 @ 6:17 pm
So there’s no establishment called “The Alamo” there? That sounds like a real-estate and marketing opportunity to me.
The cheesesteak does look kind of meager: mostly bread, not enough beef. (My buddy Charles informs me that I have never eaten a real cheesesteak because I refuse to have onions. Maybe so, but I do not repent.)
Great pics of the walk on what seems to have been a beautiful day.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 23/March/2023 @ 2:41 pm
I was so distracted by Jenn that I didn’t see the things in your nose at first.
Nice pics of a quiet town.
Here’s hoping tomorrow is generally better. Good luck making and keeping that appointment.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 22/March/2023 @ 6:43 pm
So if I understand the logic correctly…
1. New shoes become dirty after one walk.
2. Old shoes remain dirty after one walk.
3. Result after one walk = dirty either way.The logical conclusion would seem to be that it doesn’t matter whether you come with new or old shoes: it’s all dirty in the end. What is it about new shoes, then, that deserves a special warning? I’m not sure I follow. There’s some X factor that I’m missing.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 22/March/2023 @ 5:40 pm
You’d think that drinking out of a new shoe would be less gross than drinking out of an old one.
I appreciate the photos and the explanations. Very educational. How long does it take for trail markings to fade? A single rain? I imagine it depends on the type of marking, too.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 21/March/2023 @ 6:08 pm
I guess I should have left a parenthetical saying “I know this isn’t your error.”
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 21/March/2023 @ 12:11 pm
with a focus on it’s colorful nightlife
Spot the error!
I really was having the time of my life back in those days (circa 2008). I’m not sure I appreciated that fact at the time, though. Sometimes I wonder if I’m doing the same thing now.
It’s hard to find the proper mix of ambition and contentment.
re: the new McDonald’s
I’ve never once heard you say that you miss McDonald’s, so I assume that the arrival of a Mickey D’s won’t change your lifestyle much, if at all.
I will be back with more excitement tomorrow. Assuming I have one.
Lately, it often feels as if you’re dropping hints about something. Lots of references to limited time, every day being precious, etc. Is there something you’re not telling us? (Of course, if there is something, then I can’t expect you to come out and tell us.)
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 20/March/2023 @ 4:04 pm
You’ve used that Stephen King quote before. It has a “pearls before swine” vibe about it—best efforts wasted on those who don’t appreciate them. Are you saying your poetry was wasted on Nerissa? What was your purpose in reciting it to her? To woo her or move her in a deep way? Why? You’re dealing with a crowd whose mastery of idiomatic American English is shaky at best; they’re not exactly in a position to truly appreciate English-language poetry, except perhaps in whatever they sense of the rhythm of a poem, or certain key words from a poem that they recognize, like how a dog learns to recognize certain key words in its master’s speech. Pearls before swine indeed.
Maybe try memorizing a famous Tagalog poem—something about love, or something rousingly nationalistic. Something that might inspire a reaction. If you’re trying to wow the crowd with poetry, you’ll need to do it in their own idiom. Otherwise, your currently memorized poems might best be reserved for the drunken-expat crowd. Although I’m pretty sure you’re not trying to woo any guys.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 19/March/2023 @ 5:50 pm
Some sort of pageant for International Women’s Month
Whoa! What happened to Mary? She really porked up. As my brothers used to say about weight gain: “She increased in velocity.”
Great pics of the hike.
Although she looks fine without it too
Ah, that snaggle-toothed grin.
Bulgogi and cole slaw. Will wonders never cease?
Love the food-porn pics. Glistening closeups are always nice.
Does Mary have a gas stove for non-microwave cooking? Get her a slow cooker as well, then teach her to cook all the meals you know how to cook.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 18/March/2023 @ 6:20 pm
In this post, you seemed to be leaning in that direction already. I’m glad you’re at least being honest about your agenda.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 18/March/2023 @ 2:56 pm
«« Back To Stats PageI did mean to say that the banana split looked pretty good, even if the saucing was a bit unorthodox (classic saucing here—strawberry sauce on strawberry ice cream, chocolate sauce on chocolate ice cream, and pineapple “sauce” on vanilla ice cream… but I did see, in searching through photos, that Americans have all sorts of crazy notions as to how to sauce their banana split, so whatever).
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 17/March/2023 @ 11:30 pm
