I got to pick the route for the Friday group hike, and since we had my virgin neighbors along, I wanted to introduce them to my old friend, the My Bitch trail. We took a different route up and a new way down, but in between were the usual views that I enjoy. Martin and Joss were not disappointed, and although they are distance walkers (15K is their norm) on the flat streets of Manila, they found the Bitch plenty challenging. Here is some of what they got to experience:
I attended my first SOB in over a month last night. A shockingly low turnout of only eleven guests to watch the performance. I’ve seen better shows, but no complaints. My fellow judges agreed that Voodoo put on the best dance routine, with Alaska a close second.
I hope things turn around; I’m sure they lost money due to low attendance last night.
As usual, we came straight home after the show was over at eight. I was tired and not feeling so good for some reason. Today, I’m hoping the arria dies soon.
Today’s dive into the LTG archives brings us the story of the day I was stuck, poked, prodded, and probed back in February 2010. Say what you will about Korean healthcare, but their one-stop annual physical facilities are like something I’ve never seen before. Lots of pictures documenting my station-to-station journey on the road to better health. You’ve been warned.
From Facebook memories of this day in my history, comes these:
With all these Nazi accusations being bandied about, this is a useful guide to determine who the real Nazis are:
In today’s YouTube video, The Filipina Pea doesn’t hold back on the harsh realities of life in the Philippines. She’s right, but I ain’t leaving.
But wait, there’s more:
That’s all there is for this time. We’ll see what happens next.
Today, I’m hoping the arria dies soon.
???
Eight years ago, my secretary, Ms. Song Unchu, was promoted to an HR Specialist position. She still worked for me, so I wasn’t able to share how much I cared for her.
I’m guessing the feeling of “care” wasn’t platonic. Otherwise, a hug would’ve been enough in the pre-#MeToo days.
A deserted National Highway in Barretto is something you never see.
Like a movie set.
I’m glad the newbies enjoyed the hike. Will you accompany them on a 15K jaunt? Flatness makes the distance easier, as you well know.
Oh, wait—I think I get the “arria dies” joke. Gawd, that was awful. I think it works better when told verbally. You could’ve helped understanding by writing “arrhea” instead of “arria.” What the fuck was that?
re: SOB dance contest
Having it every week really reduces the novelty and customer interest. They should move to a once/quarter or maybe once/month.
Familiarity breeds contempt in this case.
Brian, Probably. I usually only attend once a month or so. I’m not sure what’s going on with the bar biz these days, but with just a couple of exceptions, the bars are quiet. Of course, new venues keep opening and the expat community is not growing enough to support them all.
Kev, yeah, it was a shitty joke, for sure. When you are making up words it just seems to make sense for it to “sound” the way you intended. Hence, my crappy play on die arria.
Kev, yes, she is a sweet woman with a nice sense of humor. I would have enjoyed getting to know her outside of work under different circumstances. Despite a lifetime of misbehavior, I never violated the HR Golden Rule about not dipping your pen in company ink. Hmm, now that I think about it, I did engage a couple of co-workers during my career, but none who worked under me, so to speak.
An end-of-the-world movie, for sure.
I wouldn’t make a special trip to Manila to walk with them, but would probably join in if I happened to be there. Even on flat ground, I tend to max out at around 12K.
When you are making up words[,] it just seems to make sense for it to “sound” the way you intended. Hence, my crappy play on die arria.
But with that strategy, the spelling you choose has to “sound” the proper way to the reader. Can you guarantee that? You can always assume the reader is stupid and try to spell phonetically, but what you (i.e., people, not you personally) consider “phonetic” isn’t guaranteed to be “heard” the same way by others. I saw “arria” and read that as “aria,” like a song at the opera. The spelling “arrhea” would’ve at least clued me in to what you were aiming for.
This is why, in determining “good” English, we try to avoid notions like “well, that just feels awkward” or “that doesn’t sound right” in favor of actual rules of grammar, mechanics, etc. And that’s why I always insist on asking you the “why” of this or that correction—what’s the rule or the underlying reason or principle? You never give me the why when I ask, which indicates you’re not learning anything.
I can see how you might have been a frustrating student in school: making more effort to avoid learning properly—finding loopholes and making jokes and excuses and such—than just to learn properly. I guess we’re all lazy about something.
Kev, yes, I do seem to recall a lot of my teachers didn’t seem to enjoy having a student like me. Go figure. But what you call lazy, I see as being creative! Or maybe I’m just channeling Frank Sinatra.
But what you call lazy, I see as being creative! Or maybe I’m just channeling Frank Sinatra.
Excuses, excuses. Maybe instead of seeing not learning as an act of rebellion, see learning as an opportunity for enrichment.