Comments Posted By Kevin Kim
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In case it feels as if all I do is offer negativity when I comment on character, I should note that I think there’s a hell of a lot you’re doing right. Joining the Hash House Harriers and walking as assiduously as you do is absolutely respectable. Trying to help certain people in need, even when the effort doesn’t turn out well, is also admirable. Whipping up good food for various events is outstanding. Being a constant presence for “mama” deserves a shout-out. I could go on, but the point is there’s a lot you already do that is good and meaningful, so if I sounded as if I were saying your life is hollow and substance-free, that’s not what I meant at all. Your life is, as John Hammond understates the matter in the first Jurassic Park movie, “not devoid of merit.” In many ways, you’ve already been somebody’s saint, somebody’s guardian angel, somebody’s companion. Do continue in that vein even as you seek other types of meaning. We the commentariat are rooting for you!
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 27/June/2022 @ 9:31 am
For what it’s worth, introvert tendencies aren’t a barrier to deep relationships. I have few true friends—barely a handful—and my boss, who is a loud talker and a schmoozer who likes to be the center of attention, often jokes that I have no life. But while my friends (and now brothers) are scattered to the four winds, my relationships are deep and meaningful; distance is not a factor (or not a big one, anyway), and I feel my bonds of friendship and brotherhood keenly. For me, when it comes to relationships, life isn’t very broad, but it is deep. I apologize if that sounds like self-righteous nonsense; I’m clumsily trying to say that there’s hope when it comes to building deep relationships, but it does require work, some overlapping values (and tendencies), and years of effort. Good luck finding the depth you seek.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 27/June/2022 @ 8:09 am
That ATM cartoon seems pretty apropos. I saw a video by an old retiree in the Philippines who spoke with a Spanish accent. He talked about the whole May/September thing and what each party got out of the relationship. In the end, I found his point of view pretty superficial, but I had to admire his frankness. One of the things he said was that Filipinas don’t age very well, which is one reason to catch them young. By the time they “age up” to the point where they’ve lost their sexual charms, you’re too old to care, or probably dead. This strikes me as a pretty cynical view, and it basically comes down to “relationship = using each other.” Not growth, not mutual enrichment, just use and servitude. (I need to look for that video and give you the link. You might appreciate the guy’s perspective more than I do.)
Nice views from the walks, as always.
I did wallow in some self-pity, but mostly it was an eye-opener to realize I meant next to nothing to these people.
But what do you really do to cultivate deep, substantive relationships? Everything is money, money, money. Light, flirty banter; old and recycled jokes—lather, rinse, repeat. You keep yearning for depth, but you never seem to strive for depth. Even when you’re with fellow expats, I don’t get the impression that your friendly chats are anything more than that—friendly chats. When was the last time you had a real heart-to-heart with someone—man or woman—about topics that matter? About more than just the temporary pleasures of the flesh?
Don’t get me wrong: if you’re into worldly pleasures, there’s an argument to be made that it’s better to enjoy what life offers than to sit around meditating all day, thereby missing out on life. But in this and many other posts, you make it obvious that you’re looking for substance, not just the next orgasm.
As you well know (or ought to know by now), finding substance will mean more than just wanting it. You need to seek it out or make it yourself, and it has to become a major priority in your life. If you’re too content in your current comfort zone, too spiritually lazy, too much a prisoner of routine and habit, then nothing is ever going to change.
I suspect you’re actually surrounded by a lot of good people with fascinating stories to tell—each person a deep well of history. What if you began showing more than a passing interest in some of them so as to make some real friends? It would be a shame to go through life with just acquaintances, and no one you can call a spiritual brother or sister. That is true loneliness. And very sad.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 26/June/2022 @ 9:13 pm
Another reason why I’m not interested in bars. But, hey, if it floats your boat…
The hiking adventure sounded interesting, at least, even if you didn’t make it to where you were trying to go. A machete might’ve been useful, although a machete can’t magically teleport you to the right mountain to climb. Or can it?
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 25/June/2022 @ 6:38 pm
If you’re looking for something new to do, how about getting a team of volunteers together to clean up those creeks and rivers? I know you’ve said in the past that the trash would simply reappear, but that just means your team would have constant work!
Not sure I understood the “Speaking of blessings” caption. As in, “Count your blessings”?
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 24/June/2022 @ 6:13 pm
I’ve seen a lot of white guys who are ex-military; they let themselves go and start drinking a lot, and they always end up with the stereotypical beer-belly shape: no ass and a huge gut. Makes ’em look pregnant. If a guy is fat all over, it’s probably because he loves food and is a big eater (e.g., me and 18-Kilo), but if he’s fat only at the gut, that’s almost definitely a beer belly. Well, since beer is the cause of the belly… you know what to do even if you don’t want to do it!
That said, rudeness from strangers is uncalled for. But it’s Asia, where people routinely body-shame. I know this well. Koreans are rude assholes, too.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 23/June/2022 @ 5:45 pm
“I am a little surprised that’s one of your interests.”
For the first few years of my blog, right up until my mom got brain cancer, I used to write a lot about religion. Religion was a topic that fascinated me, to the point where I got a Master’s degree in religious studies (it’s one of those “Do you want fries with that?” degrees that didn’t prove at all useful… you basically have to become a religion prof for the degree to mean anything). After Mom died, my interest in religion waned, but it’s still there, hiding somewhere. I don’t write much about religion these days, but I’m still attracted to holy sites and sacred spaces. There’s something calming about them. So wanting to scope out a local church is a natural thing for me.
As for martial arts, I used to do taekwondo as a kid, and even now, I retain a lot of the flexibility I acquired in my youth: I can still deliver a kick at head level, although my gut kind of gets in the way these days. I’ve long been fascinated by martial arts, too—the discipline and focus are somewhat reminiscent of monasticism.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 23/June/2022 @ 11:26 am
I don’t know Mike all that well, but that’s him at our table
I don’t see a table, so I assume Mike is the guy in the foreground. Here’s hoping he gets better. The brain is a remarkable organ: while delicate and easily damaged, it has strange powers of self-healing in some cases. And post-trauma therapy definitely helps with the healing.
Fried ice cream looks good! Sorry it didn’t taste better.
You know, if I ever visited the PI to see you in your natural habitat, I think there’s very little that you and I would do together aside from walk some Hash routes. You’re a creature of bars; I’d be more about touring the local restaurants (and eating my way through John’s menu), visiting the local churches, finding some martial-arts establishments to watch a lesson or two—that sort of thing. I think you’d be as uninterested in my interests as I’d be in yours! Although I know I’d definitely want to meet “mama” and talk with her at length. She seems like a real character. We can both agree on that.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 22/June/2022 @ 7:10 pm
Those three burgers—were they regular burgers or small sliders? I have no sense of scale.
Nice-looking walk. I’d appreciate it more if the temperature were down by 10-15 degrees, Fahrenheit or Celsius.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 21/June/2022 @ 6:56 pm
frioles
So close! Frijoles, with a “j.” I’ll chalk that up to a typo, so no biggie.
Why are you still on Facebook? The place is a fucking gulag. I know people talk about how Facebook helps them reconnect or stay connected with certain people, but it just doesn’t seem worth it to me, especially if you have opinions. Besides, most of the young, dynamic people left FB once the old farts took over and made the place uncool. Kids don’t want to hang out where their parents and grandparents hang out. FB is an old-folks home that smells of stale piss.
Switching gears: that chili looks good. The muffin looked a bit burned around the edges, but I’d eat that, anyway. Especially when it comes to cornbread, I like a bit of crispiness.
A dose of honesty from the local womenfolk is a welcome change. It’s all about the money, after all, and always has been.
I take to heart what the Aussie writer said. There’s a wrinkle, though: if we think rationally—statistically—then there are thousands of cases of injection-related deaths at this point, but over a billion people have been jabbed. Odds are that the jab won’t kill you (it hasn’t killed anyone I personally know), but I want nothing to do with what is essentially gene therapy, not a standard vaccine.
At my office, I’m surrounded by vaxxed coworkers, and they seem to be doing OK. Of course, they all got infected with omicron COVID after being jabbed at least twice while I apparently remain uninfected (either that, or I got the couf, was more or less asymptomatic, and am now immune). The injection guarantees nothing, and you’ll note the “experts” changed the narrative after vaxxed people started getting infected. They went from “the jab will prevent infection” to “the jab will minimize your hospital stay.” Moving the goalposts.
As for the battlefield being littered with the bodies of the unvaxxed, COVID was only ever a virus that affected the very elderly and those with comorbidities, i.e., people who were, evolutionarily speaking, on their way out, anyway. Meanwhile, the writer is correct that unvaxxed people in Western countries have had to endure a load of shit from their countrymen. I’m happy to be in Korea, where Karening is at a minimum (unless you’re that one dude who tries to board a subway while unmasked). In the West, people have regressed into five-year-old martinets, calling out strangers for being unmasked outside or haranguing people online for supposedly being “selfish.” This mass enstupidation has been incredible to behold at a distance. Koreans are apparently more libertarian than Americans: here, people generally mind their own business and don’t waste energy calling you out in person or online. If I ever did move back to the States, I’d have to go to a red state where people are sane in how they treat each other. Jesus.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 20/June/2022 @ 3:36 pm
I assume she’s just the waitress/food runner and not the actual cook.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 20/June/2022 @ 5:32 am
Well! Join the Fucked-up Order Club. My sympathies. I guess the lady’s rudeness after messing up the order was due to her wanting you to feel as if you were in France. Service with a snarl!
(Actually, it’s mostly big cities like Paris that give France its reputation for snootiness. Go outside the cities, and the locals treat you like a real person.)
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 19/June/2022 @ 6:28 pm
Sons of Baccus
Editor’s note: Bacchus has an “h” in it. Look closely at the signs you photographed.
The trail what leads to the falls. (I didn’t do “that” intentionally.)
American English is too boring, so you’re switching to British English, I guess, eh? I see a lot of Brits write “what” as “wot” when they’re replacing “that.”
that thing wot you said last night
the drink wot she drankThe falls were narrow but tall. Very nice. Another good hike!
I passed along your PI-related comment about masks to my buddy Tom, so he knows better what to expect once he’s in country.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 18/June/2022 @ 6:32 pm
I feel as if I jinxed things by talking about spiders in an earlier post. Sorry. On the bright side, spiders keep your day from getting boring. They also help out with insects. I don’t know whether that’s a problem for you indoors. Insects, I mean.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 17/June/2022 @ 10:36 pm
Good to know you’re not dead.
I can only stay on a tourist visa for three years, meaning I need to leave by December.
Didn’t you once mention a retiree’s visa? Why not opt for that?
I haven’t heard from her since
A lot of women do this thing where they feel there’s no need to reply. It’s part of their attempt to appear mysterious, and the preservation of mystery is more important than the risk of being rude. So: rudely mysterious. A female coworker of mine got pissed off at me, some years back, and she wrote me an angry email about her perception of my conduct. I did the gentlemanly thing and wrote back with an apology. No reply. Of course. I think the feminine tendency toward mysteriousness, in such cases, is less about being coy and more about vindictively making you stew in your own guilt. It’s a stupid, small-minded tactic, and in my coworker’s case, well, she was an oversensitive bitch with a tendency to play the victim at every opportunity. So, no: my apology wasn’t sincere—it was merely pro forma. There’s no cure for bitchiness like hers. That said, I think women in general just don’t feel the need to reply to messages because, as Jack Nicholson put it in As Good As It Gets, women (many of them, anyway) lack reason and accountability.
Sorry to hear about darts, and if Maria’s gonna complain about “only” two lady drinks when beggars can’t be choosers, well, she can sit on a splintery broomstick. Repeatedly.
Adios, Hashmobile! Here’s to safer vehicles.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 16/June/2022 @ 5:57 pm
For that The Achy, Breaky Hearts movie, the actors all look pretty generically Korean. Of course, with Asian stars in general, the ones with international appeal usually look at least a little bit Western.
Seems to have been a good walk. Sorry to hear about noisy construction.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 14/June/2022 @ 5:53 pm
Yeah, if I ever visited your neck of the woods, I’d probably spend my entire time (and fortune) at John’s place, and I’d be more bloated than Jabba the Hutt by the time I got back to Seoul. That’s a really impressive menu. Now, let’s see him expand to Ethiopian, Moroccan, and Indian food!
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 13/June/2022 @ 3:21 pm
Here’s to the red, white, and blue!
Might need an extra-long walk to help work off the hangover!
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 12/June/2022 @ 4:04 pm
I was tired of darts yesterday…
Everything’s good except #8, which should be “past.” You needed a predicate adjective right at that moment, just like #6 and #7. A predicate adjective is located in the predicate but modifies the subject:
My dog is big.
In the above sentence, “big” comes after the verb “is,” so you can easily see it’s in the predicate (the verb part of the sentence). And “big” obviously modifies “dog,” which is the subject of the sentence.
Being able to identify what part of speech a word is (noun, verb, adverb, etc.) is a good skill to have when trying to figure out which word to use.
In “…we hiked past her house,” the word “past” is a preposition. How do you know? Because prepositions often have objects, which are nouns or noun phrases.
in bed
on the branch
before dinner
past her houseFor “…we passed by her house,” the word “passed” is a verb (action). The “we” right before it is the subject. We did what? We passed by.
If you just see “past” right after a verb, then you’re probably looking at an adverb modifying that verb:
A bird flew past.
And there we go.
“What is past (pred. adj.) is prologue.”
So the synonym for “over” is “past.”
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 12/June/2022 @ 9:25 am
re: past/passed
The word “past” has several functions.
noun: That’s in the past. Don’t worry about it anymore.
preposition: Julio’s place is just past the church.
adjective: (1) God forgives us our past sins. (2) the past tense
adverb: I waved, but she ignored me and flounced past.The word “passed” has one main function: as the past-tense form of “to pass.”
I’ve passed my limit on beers tonight.
Charles passed by the cemetery every day.
Quentin passed his test yesterday!
We’ve passed the point of no return.
A car passed me on the freeway.
My grandson passed gas in church yet again.See if you can fill in the blanks with the correct word, past/passed:
In the (1)_____ , we used to visit Janine’s bar quite often. That was before the nasty fight broke out, and Janine told us the bar was henceforth off limits to me and my crew. Years (2)_____ , and one day, Janine saw me on the street and wondered why I never visited anymore. “You told us to scram, remember?” I said. “Oh, all that (3)_____ nonsense has long been forgotten. Come by anytime,” Janine laughed. I was still feeling bitter, though, and I (4)_____ by her bar quite a few times before I finally decided to come in. Janine was behind the bar when I (5)_____ through the front door. She saw me and cried in an unearthly voice, “What’s (6)_____ is (7)_____ !” And that’s when she and the other bar patrons suddenly all shed their skins and revealed themselves to be Scorpines, horrible beings from another planet who had begun visiting us… right around the time I’d first met Janine years ago. “At last! Our long famine is (8)_____ ! Willing human flesh!” they cried as they descended upon me, hungry for the taste of my nipples and large intestine. I (9)_____ out before their eager fangs sank into me.
So, based on all of the above, do you think you used “passed” correctly in your post?
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 11/June/2022 @ 3:58 pm
That was a nice, tasteful-looking cake. And chocolate definitely appeals to my inner chocoholic. Aine looks quite good for 40 (I assume those are her real boobs this time), but petite Asian women usually age well, at least up to a point. Anyway, here’s to her future! As for you, there’s still plenty of walking, darts, drinking, paid-for happy endings, and song lyrics to tie the narrative together in your future.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 10/June/2022 @ 5:41 pm
Well, congrats on the darts victory. Good way to end things before taking a break.
The hike looked arduous, as usual. Do people ever hike at night, the way they sometimes do here in Korea? I think night hiking is nuts; I’ve done it once or twice and survived, but as I get older, I trust my night vision less and less.
The darts might stop for a bit, but the walking never does. March on!
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 09/June/2022 @ 5:59 pm
The day before, I had forgotten to put on my Fitbit smartwatch after my shower, so all those painful steps on the Hash trail went undocumented. Is anybody noticing a trend here?
Time to write up, in large letters, a checklist that you need to hang on your door so that you see it before you leave your place. I do this on occasion, especially when prepping meals for the office, because I’m liable to have my own senior moments. I always tape the sign as close to my doorknob as possible to make absolutely sure I see it on my way out.
It’s the last match of the season, and I’m really glad about that.
I thought you guys already had your championship…?
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 08/June/2022 @ 3:09 pm
That rest area is called a shwimteo in Korean. Pronounce it “shweem-taw.” Shinto (lit., “god-way” or “spirit-way”) is an animistic religion in Japan.
Looks to have been a grueling walk. I’d have been done in. Congrats on 200!
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 07/June/2022 @ 6:45 pm
The pulled beef sandwich sounds easier than the pot roast.
I can see how the sandwiches might be easier than the quesadillas, but you’ll need the pot roast to make the sandwiches!
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 07/June/2022 @ 6:18 am
Pot roast came out looking good, as usual. Ever think about draining it, then slathering it in some BBQ sauce (not too much—the cardinal sin is over-saucing), then putting it between two (toasted) buns with a heap of coleslaw (and/or some pickle slices) on top to make pulled-beef sandwiches? I bet that’d be awesome.
Or make quesadillas—that’s easy enough. Paint the outside of a tortilla with mayonnaise, then lay it down in a skillet. Layer half the inside of the tortilla with shredded beef and cheese, maybe add some extra jalapeños if you want, fold the tortilla over, and pan-fry it at medium-high heat until golden brown. Flip and pan-fry the other side; make sure the cheese has melted. Instant quesadilla! Slice it into triangles or eat it like a taco! Takes only a few minutes, and even if you overcook it, it’s still good. If you won’t do it, get your help to make it. There are plenty of videos online, like this one (which doesn’t show the mayonnaise trick I mentioned).
I know there’s the whole “I’m old and don’t want to stray from my comfort zone” thing, but these are easy to do, and since you already know how to prep your beef, you’re halfway there! Open your mind. And put up some pictures. This could be an adventure!
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 06/June/2022 @ 6:42 pm
Sounds as though you’ve found a good pair of medical professionals. Here’s hoping they can help you out with the lung issues. Weaning you off meds seems like a good strategy.
I saw that same article re: dementia and thought, “uh-oh!” I used to walk a standard 5 kph, but since the stroke, that number has gone down to around 4.8 kph when I’m feeling energetic. I suspect the slowness is more thanks to the stroke than thanks to dementia. As for the article’s focus on dementia:
At the same time, previous studies have also found that aerobic exercise such as brisk walking, running, swimming, cycling and dancing can enlarge the hippocampus and improve some areas of memory.
I think routinely tackling hills qualifies as “brisk walking.” The article also notes that 10-20% of those over 65 develop dementia, so you’re very likely OK. I also wasn’t clear, after reading the article, whether the experimenters had controlled for simple aging. I mean duh, right? If you’re getting on in years, of course you’re going to slow down, dementia or not! I wish the article had gone into more detail about experimental parameters.
Well, as you yourself said, your current lifestyle beats sitting around and waiting to die in some nursing home. Walk on!
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 05/June/2022 @ 6:24 pm
Instead of Arizona, I took her to John’s lace to dine.
I’m guessing that’s “John’s place.”
Cinncinatti
Cincinnati! With Italian nouns (the word is derived from a Latin name), it’s always hard to know which letters to double. One N, then two Ns, then one T.
Looks to have been a good walk. Like life: lots of ups and downs.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 04/June/2022 @ 7:52 pm
Well, aren’t you the walking ATM!
Sorry, but Gwenie’s teeth are what my little brothers would uncharitably call “The Mouth of Madness.” (That’s from a horror-movie title: Into the Mouth of Madness.)
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 03/June/2022 @ 5:18 pm
«« Back To Stats PageSorry about the darts loss, but at least your team got second place.
I didn’t realize there’d been mention of other knife wounds on JR. That definitely changes things. I’d say I’m leaning more toward murder than suicide, assuming the other wounds are real. I’m still not convinced a suicidal person would go out by slitting his own throat. Painful and messy. Driving a knife upward into your brain would be quicker if you don’t have access to a gun.
Namsan’s cable car used to have a really bad reputation for unreliability, and I think the car fell and tumbled down the mountainside once or twice. I’ve ridden the thing exactly once, and I felt nervous the entire time.
Oh, yeah: at the beginning of my most recent 60K walk I saw, along the Han, a group of runners that included one very hot-looking young lady… except that her shoulders were a little over-broad. The word “bakla” popped into my head unbidden. She looked, otherwise, like just your type! She was also super-tanned for a Korean.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 02/June/2022 @ 5:37 pm