Comments Posted By Kevin Kim
Displaying 1,621 To 1,650 Of 4,392 Comments
You are indeed a documented man.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 26/February/2023 @ 6:50 pm
I’m increasingly worried that my diminished breathing capacity is my new normal.
I’m concerned, too, given that the word “lung” has been appearing in your recent blog posts with greater and greater frequency. What more can be done to help you regain your lung capacity?
Nice pics of the walk.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 25/February/2023 @ 7:45 pm
Maybe you’d mentioned this once before, but I didn’t realize you were a “the second” (John Mark McCrarey II).
Nice poem, from back when “Karen” wasn’t a bad word. Your Karen was a cutie, too.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 24/February/2023 @ 6:42 pm
Oh, yeah—I forgot to give you a thumbs-up for the Captain Morgan pose.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 25/February/2023 @ 2:40 am
Mark is my middle name!
Indeed! We did the whole “John Mark in the Bible” thing some time ago. That’s what I was going for here, but I had to opt for the lower case “mark” (target) to make the pun work.
I don’t think I’m in any danger of falling in love.
I think she’s gonna bat her eyelashes and play “the girl in need” so she can (1) lean on your masculine ego/sense of pity and (2) suck some life out of you in the form of $$$—for as long as you’re useful. As they say in “The Whale,” I don’t think anyone can save anyone. By having a kid so early in life, Mary has already started down the same water slide that most of these other Filipinas go down. I’d love to be proved wrong, but I think the girl has revealed her hand.
You might be better off giving money to, say, rebuilding projects to repair storm damage or something. Something practical and less directly people-oriented. These young ladies are all the same sort of lemming, and even if they know better, they still shuffle en masse toward the same cliff’s edge as always. Helping that is a waste because, in the end, there is no helping that. Your blog has taught me a lot in that regard.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 24/February/2023 @ 6:28 pm
I still think Mary sees you more as a “mark” than as a “John.” Sex on the first date, and now she’s making girlfriend noises? The alarms that weren’t blaring before are all blaring now. Please proceed with caution.
Floating bar looks nice! I hope they prosper. Glad to see they’re back in business.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 24/February/2023 @ 4:57 pm
“Dilly-dally in the valley” makes me think of “quick and sassy in the assy,” a description of a fart from a list of fart-related expressions.
No hay problema
So! Time for your Spanish quiz. “Hay” rhymes with which English word?
a. hi
b. eye
c. heyBONUS: “No hay” means
a. not making
b. not seeing any
c. there’s noI’m glad you live where you live. If you were a Manila blogger, I doubt I’d be seeing this much nature.
It’s a crap picture, but this tree caught my eye for some reason
I think I see why: it looks as if it has no trunk, almost as if it were exploding out of the ground like some weird, vegetal grenade—a tree that thinks it’s a bush.
Harvest time comes early in Southeast Asia, I guess. Here in South Korea, where we’re at the latitudes of DC and NYC, harvest season is always the fall.
The fish market at Santo Tomas
I’m not sure how much I trust fish markets that are out in the hot sun. In Korea, we have a similar problem in the summertime. I don’t mind fish markets in the other, cooler seasons, but for me, summertime means indoor fish markets only.
Facebook shared this memory of Justin’s first visit to Itaewon thirteen years ago.
Was that before he learned Korean?
All in all, it appears to have been a spectacular day. Lovely photos, good walk, good company, good food. Awesomeness all around.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 23/February/2023 @ 5:40 pm
Ever hear of the First Amendment?
That’s better material than I was writing when I was in a high-school journalism course. Awesome that you were able to sneak that article past the censors.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 23/February/2023 @ 3:20 pm
You’re 67, and there’s a 50-year age gap, so she’s 17? I thought you’d written before that she was 19. From this post:
Turns out we only have a fifty-year age gap (she turns nineteen in November). That’s a stretch even for me.
If she’s 19, then you’re 69 (ho ho). The math doesn’t work. Or is there some weird “Korean age” thing happening here? Or are you just rounding? Well, if she’s really 17, have fun bangin’ that high schooler, I guess. I have a feeling that you’re not her first rodeo, so she’s using you as much as you’re using her. Blissful symbiosis! She got any kids?
I think John needs to join your walkers’ group. Maybe, at first, he can walk only 50 yards before he needs to bow out, but 50 can become 100, then 100 can become 200, and so on, and pretty soon, he’s walking with the best of them. I bet a walking program would solve a lot of problems (along with, say, laying off carbs). And based on his message, there was something edema-related going on. I feel sorry for his scrote—swelling up 8X is no picnic.
Well, I don’t know where all this is going with Mary, but I’ll be watching and reading with my usual morbid curiosity as you head toward yet another cliff. That’s why I keep coming back: your life has all the drama that mine lacks. My problems are boring in comparison.
Stay disease-free! Enjoy the conjugal contentment while it lasts.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 22/February/2023 @ 5:54 pm
Your “slowpoke” looks a bit like a hobbit. Is he really that short, or is that just an optical illusion caused by his sitting down?
That reminds me: the dude (was he English?) who was out of shape and unprepared for that one walk—have you heard from him again, or did he disappear? I have high hopes that he’ll get in slightly better shape and start accompanying you guys on more walks. There’s a potential success story hiding in there somewhere.
re: Mary
You were with that one young, nubile chick who broke your heart a while back, so please proceed with caution. Remember: the young are flighty and don’t know what they want, so frankly, I don’t see this lasting. (From what I’ve seen, the old also don’t know what they want.) But, hey—if you get a little fun out of the experience, maybe that’s all a man needs. Who am I to say?
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 21/February/2023 @ 8:15 pm
Yeah, I was pretty sure those were simple typos. “Orea” was kind of amusing, though.
South Korea is pretty strict about drug possession, use, and distribution, but Canadians keep trying to bring shit in to grow and to smoke. They never fucking learn.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 21/February/2023 @ 5:13 am
OK, yeah, now the alarm bells are going off. Mary’s only nineteen, eh? Yikes. And she’s already preying on old men. They learn quick, the little chickees do.
#5 was my contest favorite, too.
Spelling:
Beach Bash Beauty Paegent (Pageant)
Orea cookies (sounds like something the body produces)I’m glad Anna’s daughter enjoys your brownies. Start loading them up with pot and see how they go over. Edibles!
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 20/February/2023 @ 4:03 pm
Sorry—I meant Josh. Justin’s the Korea veteran. Yeah, I have senior moments, too.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 19/February/2023 @ 6:10 pm
Rueben → Reuben
“Justin on the mean streets of Pandaquit.”
I assume that’s “Pundaquit,” per your previous spellings (and that photo!).
Looks to have been quite the adventure. Great pics of the path, of the food, and of your non-paying hotel denizen. And the walk was over 8K. Not bad, not bad.
Enjoy your return to Barretto. Good luck to Justin on the next step of his visa application.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 19/February/2023 @ 4:49 pm
Well, you’re a busy man, handling two nephews, so I’d expect the blog posts to be a bit truncated. Not a problem—have fun, don’t go insane with the drinking, and while it’s tempting to say “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” that would reduce you to hanging out in your hotel room, reading a book on your phone’s Kindle app. You’ll have to ask Justin for details about his Jeju walk. Does he post photos and/or write somewhere online?
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 18/February/2023 @ 3:19 pm
This might be strange for me to say since I’m usually the dude pointing out the red flags, but… so far, I don’t see much to worry about regarding Mary. Personally, I’d be troubled by the kid angle (too many Filipinas making the same poor life-choices, one after another), but what’re you gonna do? If you meet a woman in the PI, she’s probably got kids in tow. I’m surprised, frankly, that the country’s population density isn’t far higher, what with all the lagomorphic breeding.
Is Josh as much of a liberal as his brother? If so, they’re both very tolerant of their Nazi bastard racist bigot of an uncle. That’s good to see. The world could use more actual tolerance.
Good luck whenever you do meet this chick and find out whether there really is Something About Mary.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 17/February/2023 @ 6:56 pm
Don’t know why it took me so long to realize this, but your constant mention of brownies kind of makes you sound like a pothead.
Nuthin’ wrong with having some down time.
Good luck with the new girl. Some smart chicks are sexy; others are just fat. May your date be the former.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 16/February/2023 @ 6:55 pm
re: your barfine
Well, if it makes you temporarily happy even in some weird, hollow, transactional way, I guess that’s better than nothing. For me, the whole thing would be too artificial for me to appreciate. But that’s just how I roll.
Then again, you also distributed gifts and made some other young ladies briefly happy, so you’ve done your manly duty.
Not sure I understand the switch from Joy to Lyn, though. Is it just that Joy was looking for a casual dinner date while you were looking for something bed-related?
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 15/February/2023 @ 7:05 pm
Mr. Rolly looks to be “bien dans sa peau” (good in his skin, comfortable).
Sounds like a good walk despite the difficulty. Josh is badass for soldiering on despite still recuperating from his injuries. Is he planning on motoring around Jeju? There’s the peripheral coastal highway with all of its gorgeous views, but Jeju’s interior also has plenty of nice roads leading past and through farms. Lots of road to cover for such a small island.
Enjoy your massage. May it end happily.
Oh, and continued good luck to Scott as he recovers.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 14/February/2023 @ 4:39 pm
I finally watched the video. It does add to the experience. Very nice. Thanks for embedding that.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 13/February/2023 @ 6:40 pm
What’s your recipe for strawberry smoothies? And does it involve measuring?
Good luck with today’s Hash.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 13/February/2023 @ 1:38 pm
Looks to have been a beautiful excursion. Hope Josh had fun.
That singing duet—are they Filipino? They almost look Korean, at least from that angle.
From that trail poem:
Where sound in honed/To bring distance home
I assume the “in” is a typo. It should probably be “is.”
Baguio looks like an interesting place. Any plans to go back?
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 12/February/2023 @ 7:35 pm
Dog stew in Korea also involves beating the dog alive. Something about how the fear-adrenaline enhances the taste of the meat.
Sorry to hear that the food at that one place was so-so, and the service was bad.
Still, the location looks nice. Good luck with your walk. May you survive the trek.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 11/February/2023 @ 4:28 pm
Beautiful, zoomed-in pic of Alta Vista. That burrito lunch also looks good. I guess you’re both still figuring out the gin thing. Good luck.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 09/February/2023 @ 9:27 pm
O-negative is the universal-donor blood type, so John could also receive that in theory. If I understand the situation correctly, he’s got lung problems reminiscent of pulmonary edema, and he’s got serious enough kidney problems to require dialysis. Did he live hard in his younger days? Or is this something genetic that’s catching up with him? Has anyone given him an all-around diagnosis for the constellation of ailments he’s suffering from? Inquiring minds want to know.
Happy birthday to MJ! May she find her Spider-Man.
You might enjoy this entry on John Mark, putative writer of the second gospel (which is, chronologically, the first of the four gospels). In France, for what it’s worth, Jean-Marc is a common given name.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 08/February/2023 @ 6:23 pm
Josh looks a lot like his bro. So if he’s going for an M.Div., does that mean he’s going to be in Korea only temporarily? What’s he planning to do with his Master’s? It might be key to getting him out of hagweon work and into university work. Universities aren’t without their problems, but they’re a damn sight better than hagweons.
I got my Master’s in religious studies and never used it. My bachelor’s has proved much more useful, along with the certification to teach foreign languages that I also got while in undergrad. I pursued religious studies because I found it fascinating, and one of the cool things about Master’s-level work is that you can devote your time almost entirely to what interests you. At the undergrad level, you still have to take a lot of “core” courses that have little to nothing to do with your interests. I hated history, for example.
Anyway, continued good luck to Josh, especially as he heals. Is he planning on getting his surgery in Korea? It’d certainly be a lot cheaper there, but I have to wonder how much time off a hagweon would allow him to have to convalesce. I’m still not convinced Korean healthcare is all that great.
That said, he’s young and in good shape, so I’m sure he’ll figure his way through this thing called life. Does he know about your blog?
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 07/February/2023 @ 7:53 pm
He’s going to be spoiled by the 500 pesos a night price. Once he gets to Korea, it’s gonna be sticker shock.
If he’s moving to Jeju, I hope he gets used to the mercurial weather. Not sure what it’s like there in the winter, but a Korean friend tells me it’s quiet since it’s off-season for tourists. Jeju is famous for three things: rocks, wind, and women. From what I saw, summer is protracted there, and the harvest season comes late.
Plenty of hiking and biking to do on the island; no shortage of mountains. Bus system is easy to learn. Point him to my latest walk blog if he wants to see pics of the place. If he likes farmland, there’ll be plenty of that to see, with all of that awesome volcanic soil.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 07/February/2023 @ 4:53 am
I hope Josh enjoys his stay in the PI. I assume he’s going from there to Korea, or is he going back to the States to await the processing of his visa? I can no longer remember how long the processing takes; it’s been quite a few years. (I see that one website says processing takes 1-4 weeks.) Anyway, good luck to Josh. I’m sure he’ll be in good hands whenever he meets up with his bro (not that he’s not in good hands with you).
And good luck to your Hash victims as they do your trail!
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 06/February/2023 @ 3:25 pm
Then it occurred to me:
I’ll be traveling to Angeles City in the wee hours of the morning to pick up my nephew Joshua, who will be arriving at Clark airport at 0230.
—you don’t drive! How are you “picking” your nephew “up”?
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 06/February/2023 @ 4:17 am
«« Back To Stats PageMevelyn
There’s a similar tradition in Korea of having a Western-ish name that’s messed up by one letter. I once had a student who called herself Rinda. I had another who called herself Artica, although I don’t think “Arctica”—with another C—is a legit Western name, either.
Congrats on the continued weight loss. And good luck to your nephew.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 05/February/2023 @ 6:06 pm