Had a nice surprise visit from my old buddy Duke Gates this weekend.  I’ve been knowing Duke since around 2005 when he introduced me to the game of darts.  He left Korea several years ago, but we’ve stayed in touch more or less.  When I was back living in the states we’d always meet up.  Haven’t gone back for almost two years now, so he came to me I guess you could say.

Here’s a strange story from the small world of the internets.  I’m not sure where or why, but Duke had posted this picture on some website:

That’s me and Duke I’m guessing around 2010 or so.

Anyway, Duke get’s a random message from this girl:

She works at the dart bar I used to frequent here in Angeong-ri and she recognized me. The question she had for Duke was “is he your father?” That cracked us both up.

Anyway, I had planned to take Duke to the bar I Don’t Know the name of, even though I’m probably not welcome there anymore.  But alas, they were hosting some kind of private party and we weren’t able to get inside.

So, there’s a father and not his son enjoying some adult beverages in the ville. We did a pretty nice pub crawl on Friday night.

That night did end on a sour note though.  I had invited Joy, a woman I was interested in dating (we’ve had a couple of outings, but nothing too serious), to join us.  She said she was tired and it was too cold to go out.  Well, pretty near the end of our night out drinking we had settled into a bar called The Wall.  And lo and behold, who comes waltzing in but Joy.  She didn’t come over to greet me however, she was talking to some of the other girls who work there.  I came over to say hello and introduce Duke and she made a grudging acknowledgement and moved over to the bar (sitting on the stool I had previously occupied) and started talking to the bartender.  I was a bit taken aback and the bar was full, so Duke and I moved over to an empty table to wait.  Then when I look up she’s walking out the door with nary a word or a goodbye.

Now, I was hurt and angry about her rudeness.  I was also drunk.  So I followed her out to the street and said some shit that I almost immediately regretted.  And she stormed off into the night.  I tried to send her an apology the next morning, but of course she has blocked me on messenger and is not accepting my calls.

Oh well, that’s the way it goes.  I’m ashamed of my behavior but I’ve also lost all interest in having this particular Joy in my life.

I’m pretty much resolved to not pursue any romance for my remaining six months in Korea.  There’s really no point.  I had dinner with Mi Young the other night which was pleasant enough.  I think the friend zone will be a safe place for me to stay while I wait to start my new life in the Philippines.