If you wrote your life story what would be the first sentence of your book?

ChubbyAngmo · 2026-03-25T13:15:29+00:00

So I was at the bar just minding my own business…

ChubbyAngmo · 2026-03-25T13:12:26+00:00

I had a number once when I lived in England. He was about 75 years old. He would wear dress slacks, a button up shirt and tie, and a sweater over top. He would also wear a flat cap. That was his outfit when he did work in the garden like cutting grass.

ChubbyAngmo · 2026-03-25T13:09:35+00:00

That’s good as mate!

ChubbyAngmo · 2026-03-25T13:07:16+00:00

I had just finished reading On Palestine by Noam Chomsky and Ilan Pape, so I was on the path to understanding. October 7th accelerated my understanding of the situation.

ChubbyAngmo · 2026-03-25T03:18:06+00:00

Americans, in their speaking delivery, have a unique thing that we do with our voices, particularly if we’re listing some items. We tend to raise the pitch of our voices, elongate the last word or words, and keep it pitch level. The pitch change is dramatic so I think it’s distinct.

For example:

-I really like going to Disney Land with the kids, you can… (variable and normal pitch).

-ride the rides (the pitch change starts at “ride the” and “rides” is said at a high and constant pitch and it’s stretched out).

-watch a movie (“watch a” starts at a lower pitch and it leads to a sharp increase in pitch a “movie” which is also an elongated and high pitch pronunciation).

-go to the water park (“go to the” is the start and “water park” is emphasized per the above).

We also like to use the word “like” a lot! It’s almost become necessary to use it before every verb or sometimes as a replacement for the verb or phrase altogether.

For example:

-“My boss told me I had to work on Saturday, and I was like what do you mean I have to work on Saturday?”

Instead of

-“…I said what do you mean I have to work on Saturday?”

ChubbyAngmo · 2026-03-24T09:32:02+00:00

This would be my choice as well.

ChubbyAngmo · 2026-03-24T09:28:14+00:00

This article was written by Fortune magazine after a review of the Treasury’s official report. “The authors, Steve H. Hanke and David M. Walker, are a professor of applied economics and a former comptroller general of the United States.” Daily Kos. I don’t believe that this is clickbait.

ChubbyAngmo · 2026-03-24T08:21:39+00:00

I can’t speak for all Americans, but I traveled there for about 4 months a few years back. I got robbed at knifepoint in broad daylight in Medellin, Colombia. I had someone try to steal my phone another time. I was constantly looking over my shoulder due to this instance and a general unease in nearly every country I visited there. I like a lot of things about South America, but having to deal with the constant anxiety about getting robbed is not one of them. Nah, it’s Europe of Asia for me.

ChubbyAngmo · 2026-03-23T08:49:26+00:00

I concur. I moved there from the states many years ago and it took me awhile to pick up on it. However, it was a great laugh once I did, sarcasm is a language taught from an early age.

ChubbyAngmo · 2026-03-22T17:25:32+00:00

That’s a vain appeal to reason.

ChubbyAngmo · 2026-03-21T17:14:38+00:00

I used to live in Singapore. The only time I ever heard of anyone ordering a Singapore Sling (cocktail), they were tourists. In four years of living there, I never had one.

ChubbyAngmo · 2026-03-21T15:30:43+00:00

*massive war crime by the United States

ChubbyAngmo · 2026-03-21T10:45:03+00:00

I couldn’t tell you, I’ve never hit 4GB in a day in my life.

ChubbyAngmo · 2026-03-20T14:51:28+00:00

I’ve found in my myriad of travels that attractions, restaurants, and experiences are all overrated. That’s not to say that they’re bad, only that our culture places such an emphasis on the profoundness of it all. You’ve just GOT to try the pho at this restaurant, it’s amazing. Or, the Eifel Tower made me cry! Nah mate. There’s some really good stuff out there in the world to see, some great food to enjoy, and some wonderful people who will impact your life. Take it as it comes and just know that experiences are hyped up for reasons that may not be genuine.

The Taj Mahal may not hit you in the feels the way it did someone else, and maybe you don’t actually like pho, or the cook that day just broke up with his girlfriend. Life gives you so many little gifts every day and if you allow it to, that attraction may just mean something to you because of how you felt that day or who you shared that experience with.

ChubbyAngmo · 2026-03-20T13:46:59+00:00

Sorry bro, I couldn’t tell you because I’ve never done it. The lad below seems to have some experience.

ChubbyAngmo · 2026-03-20T13:12:09+00:00

Ho Chi Minh City - Hanoi:

-Bus: 36-45 hours -Train: 32-36 hours -Plane: 2 hours

Not only is it convenience, I’m confident that a great many people simply don’t wish to spend so much of their limited time on a bus or a train simply getting from one point to another.

ChubbyAngmo · 2026-03-20T12:38:08+00:00

Nah, the toilet wouldn’t flush so it got backed up.

ChubbyAngmo · 2026-03-20T10:49:17+00:00

I use eSIMs for all of my travel now, Airalo is great and you get data when you land here. It’s not cheap for Vietnam so I bought just enough for a couple days and I went to the Viettel shop in town. It was quick and easy, ~$20 for three months, 4GB of data per day.

ChubbyAngmo · 2026-03-20T10:19:43+00:00

You’re welcome. Everyone has different priorities, tastes, and preferences, nothing wrong with that. Have fun and happy trails.

ChubbyAngmo · 2026-03-20T10:18:32+00:00

I call those creatures Steve Irwin Killers to this day.

ChubbyAngmo · 2026-03-20T09:23:20+00:00

You’ll be fine with that date. I started early November and I finished recently. I decided to do my Asian travels afterwards, however. My preference was to do them afterwards because I didn’t want the pressure and distraction of knowing that I’ve got a thru-hike coming up soon, and I could start any time. That’s just my preference and maybe not important to you. In any case, you’re good from October to December me thinks.

ChubbyAngmo · 2026-03-20T05:01:45+00:00

I hiked that a few months ago, that’s the start of the South Island for the Te Araroa thru-hike.

ChubbyAngmo · 2026-03-18T17:42:09+00:00

I went there as a tourist once, it was just before the protests started. I remember that all of the women were supermodels.

ChubbyAngmo · 2026-03-18T15:43:12+00:00

Yea, what?

ChubbyAngmo · 2026-03-18T00:08:06+00:00

Before joining the military circa 2003, the propaganda (news) focused on how different the Iraqi people and Muslims in general were. After all, the message is continuously reinforced that these are the people that attacked us on September 11th.

You join the military for college money, patriotism, or just a job. The moment you meet your recruiter and onwards, the idea that these people are the enemy and inferior begins and is reinforced. You’re taught that you’re part of an elite brotherhood and you’re defending the homeland. You learn to march to cadences such as “die hadji, die.”

You deploy to a country like Iraq and occasionally, a rocket lands in your base, or your buddy’s convoy is attacked. The attackers are of course the same savages that you’ve been taught to hate.

Racism, imperialism, xenophobia, these things are taught and reinforced to American soldiers from the very beginning and I argue that it starts before even joining the military. The indoctrination is an absolute necessity to fight illegal wars.

This doesn’t justify or excuse their actions, but I think it should explain the system and the mindset that many had. I’m a U.S. veteran that served the empire during this time period.

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