Recognize this beach?  Of course you do:

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on the beach in Bali…

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…but I don’t want to put the cart before the horse.  If you ear what I’m saying.

Sweet eats on the beach in Bali.

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I don’t think they have baseball in Bali, but they have the equipment…

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Poolside in Ubud, Bali

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…and even though winter won’t be over when I arrive next month, I’m looking forward to that sweet Korean springtime!

Cherry blossom on Yongsan.

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Yes, this is not the traditional way Korean families celebrate the new year.  I like the picture though.

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On display at the Thomas Edison museum in Gangneung.

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In Korea you don’t so much drive over the mountains, you drive through them.  Methinks Koreans may be distant relations of Tolkien’s Dwarves…

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So, I was playing around on Google and came across this arbitration decision posted by the National Association of Letter Carries (NALC).  It was a sweet reminder of those long ago days when I represented the Postal Service in grievance hearings.  I never took joy in seeing someone lose their job (ok, I took much satisfaction in winning the case, but I maintained empathy for the plight of the individual involved) but it was a responsibility I took seriously.
I miss my working life.  But looking back on 34 years of government service, I can see it was mostly meaningless.  It sure did seem important at the time though.

Here’s hoping things turned out OK in your life Mr. Brooks.

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Unlike in the USA, many bars in Korea are upstairs.  This is an example from a bar in Songtan, just outside the Osan Air Force Base.  These are about the worst I encountered and were quite difficult to manage even while sober.  I guess the Korean trial lawyers aren’t on their game like their American counterparts.

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So, I wrote my Congress-critter a nice letter indicating my opposition to the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) currently pending before the house.  Today via email I got this response:

JOE WILSON 2nd District, South CarolinaASSISTANT MAJORITY WHIPCOMMITTEES: ARMED SERVICES Chairman, Personnel Subcommittee FOREIGN AFFAIRS EDUCATION AND THE WORKFORCE HOUSE POLICY	CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	COUNTIES: AIKEN* ALLENDALE BARNWELL BEAUFORT CALHOUN* HAMPTON JASPER LEXINGTON ORANGEBURG* RICHLAND* * parts of
January 18, 2012 Mr. John McCrarey 301 [redacted] Dr Columbia, SC Dear Mr. McCrarey, BLANK It is an honor to serve the people of the Second Congressional District of South Carolina. If I may ever be of assistance please do not hesitate to contact me. JOEWILSON.HOUSE.GOV
Sincerely, Joe Wilson Member of Congress Sign up for Joe Wilson’s E-Newsletter!

Now, he’s the guy who called Obama a liar during the State of the Union speech.  And I can appreciate that he says what he thinks.  Still, I think I deserve better than a somewhat ambiguous “BLANK”.  Was he just trying to be polite?

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Today is the first anniversary of my mother’s death.  I’m missing her and of course wishing things could have been different for her.  She loved life, her grandkids and great-grandkids, the holidays, and all the simple joys it is so easy to take for granted.  I’ll always regret not having been a better son for her.  She always asked so little from her family and unfortunately, too often that is all got.  Ah well.  In the end I was with her for what little comfort I could give.  She told me “I love you for coming home to me”, and I will always have that moment to remember.

This is the last photo I took of her, a day or two before she died.  She would have hated it of course,  but it was both a special and sad time and I think she’d be happy to be remembered, regardless of the circumstances.  I love you mom.

This morning Jee Yeun left for Korea.  The house without her seems so empty and quiet.  You kind of fall into a rhythm when you share your life with someone, and her departure has left me feeling particularly out of sorts.

She’s going home to help take care of her sister he recently suffered a massive stroke.  She will also be with her family to celebrate the lunar new year, and that’s a good thing.  Finally, she will be doing all the heavy lifting associated with moving house.  She’s taking an apartment in the same building at Gireum station, just two floors lower down.

I’ll be following in two or three weeks.  I have to finalize matters associated with my parent’s estate before I can leave the country.  It’s a real pain in the ass, but at least I have some powerful motivation to get it done.

Welcome home to the Land of the Morning Calm sweetheart.  I miss you and I love you.

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Pretty interesting story of an Korean-American actor I’d never heard of, and his parents were the first married couple to immigrate to the U.S.

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Too much time for McDonald’s?  This is your place…

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On my 55th birthday in Itaewon.  I was very drunk.

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From Comedy Central a great look at the derangement and hypocrisy that pervades the mainstream media.

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I can do chopsticks enough to get by, but when it comes to noodles, not so much.

Well, I got that last part done ok I suppose…

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Kernville, California circa 1958…

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