Had a coughing jag yesterday afternoon.  Then I experienced chest pain.  Wasn’t sure if I was having a heart attack or if my violent coughing fit had pulled a chest muscle.  Seeing as how I have no clue on where the nearest hospital might be and having too much pride to call on one of the few people I know down here, I just said fuck it, I’ll go to bed and see if I wake up alive.  I did.

I did check out the local hospital with an international clinic today on the interwebs.  It’s named “Good Morning Hospital”.  Better than good night I suppose.  I’ll get in the car this weekend and find out how to get there.  Just to be safe.

Speaking of the car, I came home last night and someone had parked next to me in my carport.  Seriously, who does that?  I wasn’t in the mood to deal with it, and this morning around 0530 I observed 4 fuckers from the house next door hop my fence and then hop into the car.  I didn’t bother confronting them.  But I did re-position  my vehicle today in such a manner as to take up both spaces.  Fuck you motherfuckers!

And then I came upon this short vignette that I expect captures exactly how I will die when the time comes.  I’m in no hurry, but maybe tomorrow….

Finished up the first week in Pyeongtaek.  Let’s got to the photos for the story.

A view from my office. Yongsan was more of an admin base, hosting the HQ’s of USFK and Eighth Army. Humphreys is a base devoted to war fighters.
That runway is home to all kinds of helicopters and some fixed wing aircraft, and they are always in motion it seems. A whole different tempo here..

Another view. That building is the future home to USFK. Being in the ADVON is a bit of a pain in the ass. They are still working out the kinks in our HQ building. Also, no refrigerators or microwaves. Really cramping my bring lunch from home lifestyle. Not to mention making it hard to enjoy cold diet Cokes throughout the day. I’m not one to complain, but…

As busy and noisy as the Army base is, Anjeong-ri is quiet and docile compared to the Itaewon scene. Still have not nailed down my “home” bar, but after a week I’m greeted by name in 3 bars I visit and in two others that know what I’m drinking (light beer). I’ve actually gotten to where I prefer gin and soda but surprisingly none of the bars I’ve found have club soda in stock. It’s freaking bizarre.

The Drunk Bus is not a bar I expect to frequent regularly, but it did remind me of the dive bar atmosphere I enjoyed at the Grand ole Opry back in the ‘twon.

I paid my rent. $37,068 for one year. I don’t expect to be here a year, so by terms of the lease, the remainder will be reimbursed to Uncle Sam.

Some of my Yongsan staff came down to look for housing (most will be moving here at the end of next month). I treated them to some Korean BBQ for lunchee.

I upgraded my phone to the Galaxy S-7 Edge. Not cheap, but half the price of the new Galaxy S-8.

Katchi Kapshida only goes so far I guess….  Doesn’t bother me, I’ll always be the bigger man.  Ahem.’

Up early Saturday morning for a hike. Wound up here ten minutes from the house.

History in stone.

Very pretty area though.

Old and new living in relative harmony.

Once I was out of “town” I was walking on some old time country roads…

Your guess is as good as mine.

Saturday afternoon found me at the Osan Air Force base. I took advantage of the Arby’s there.

It’s been awhile and it was good.

I was in the area for a Saturday night dart tourney at Xenis Bar in Songtan…

My old friend Vox is the proprietor. He was getting some hair love. I of course was not.  Not that I need it…

Here in Anjeong-ri it is the Spring Festival weekend…

Which means music has been blasting from that stage and into my living room all weekend…

These guys did a decent enough cover of “born to be wild” that I ventured out to get a closer look.

The main street in town was closed to vehicles for the vent…

And as you can see I was having a grand old time…

I did enjoy a nice long walk along a new river today..

Lots of exploring to do yet.

It is certainly no Han.

The bridge what brought me there…

A few folks on bicycles and only one other hiker. Made for a lonely walk…

but there is always time to stop and smell the flowers…

This area is old school farm country…

That bridge is a train trestle. Couldn’t find any other place to cross and given that I was two hours into my hike, I turned around a walked back…

That’s Camp Humphreys on the other side of the river…

It was hot today. I only carried one bottle of water with me, needed two. Or maybe this. Also sunburned my neck. It’s true, I’m definitely a redneck now.

And that’s all I’ve got.  Feeling isolated and lonely, but that’s a big improvement over sad and miserable.  Progress!

So, the new washer wasn’t working right. Repairmen comes out and fixes my jury rigged drainpipe. He explained that I was trying to fit an American sized hose into a Korean sized hole. Who knew?

Here’s how my Monday went down.

Right on schedule, my washer and dryer were delivered at 0830. I was told it would be an American combo. Well, LG ain’t American…

…but they are American style.

Once the delivery was completed I headed on in to work for my first day in the new building.  Alas, my computer has still not been hooked into the network nor has my phone been activated.  Even for a government employee, that makes it hard to get things done. So I took care of some other business.  Went to the medical clinic pharmacy for some refills on my inhalers.

Yes, I’m sorry to report that I’m still dealing with my lung issues.  It was better for awhile, and still not as bad as it was, but last night I had a pretty tough coughing fit.  The inhaler helps, but I’ve found that the nebulizer brings more comfort.  Out of juice though and no refills left on my prescription.

Seeing as how I wasn’t going to get much done with no computer/phone, I took some sick leave and went off to find a Korean doctor.  I did, and his name is Dr. Kim.  Go figure.  In the manner of Korean medicine to which I’ve grown accustomed, I was granted all of 3 minutes of face time with the doc.  Dr. Kim:  Nice to meet you.  What’s the problem?  Me: COPD.  I need a refill on my nebulizer juice.  Showed him the prescription.  He types into the computer and shows me an inhaler.  Nope, got those.  I need the liquid to go into my nebulizer machine.  Oh, he says.  So he gives me a prescription for 3 bottles of juice.  The pharmacy only had two in stock, so I took them.  Maybe they’ll help, maybe they won’t.  But it gives some peace of mind having them if I needed..

Then a man came and installed my new bidet.  Woot!

There is some comfort in that and that pleases me.

Then I found a dry cleaner around the corner and dropped off my clothes.

Next the washer/dryer installer came and installed the dryer.  He left me to my own devices on the washer.  That fiasco is worthy of a post of it’s own.  Look for it tomorrow!

I did do laundry.  And fired up the grill.

It’ll do.

Feels like being back home. Wherever the hell that might be.

Oh, and I met the neighbor across the street.

He didn’t have much to say though…

Finished the evening at IDK bar.  I guess I’m achieving regular status there as they all remembered me from Saturday night darts.  I told the bartender everyone keeps asking me what “IDK” stands for and I tell them I don’t know.  So they said I should ask.  What does it stand for?  She told me “I don’t know”.  I guess no one does.

Ah, and here it is 10:00 p.m. and the sound of Taps is filling the air.  They sure do blast it out from the Army base. Must be telling me it is time for bed.

Well, I’m pretty much unpacked and settled into my new place.  Waiting for the washer/dryer to be delivered so it’s a good time to recap the weekend.

It’s quiet here.  Real quiet.  Walking the streets I’m just amazed at how little foot and vehicle traffic there is, even in the “downtown” area of Anjeong-ri.  I’m so used to the crowded sidewalks of Seoul I suppose, but sometimes it feels almost deserted here.  It’s not unpleasant, just a little disconcerting.  I’m sure I’ll get used to it.

I honestly don’t know how some of the businesses remain viable, but from appearances, most have been around awhile.  And of course, things are only going to bet better when the rest of 8th Army follows me down here next month.   Right now, the most prevalent business seems to be real estate shops catering to USFK personnel.

I did find a nice little Korean restaurant called “Me and You”.  It caught my eye because the signage said they served “American-style breakfast”.

And so they did…it was actually quite tasty.

I reckon there to be some 20-odd bars in the immediate area, I’ve probably sampled about half of them so far.  One difference from Itaewon is that very few seem to open before 6 p.m.  The other difference is most seem to cater to a very young crowd, mostly soldiers.  I understand that, given that this area lacks the diversity of foreigners (age, nationality, job type) that you see in the ‘twon.  I do miss that and it makes it more difficult to find a bar I’m comfortable hanging out in on a regular basis.  It’s early yet, I’ll keep looking!

I did play in the Saturday night dart tourney at a bar called IDK.  I don’t know what that stands for. Oh, wait a minute!  Anyway, the tourney was small and not so well organized.  Most of the players were new to the game and didn’t have much skill or knowledge of the rules.  I finished second (my former teammate Craig who lives here now as well) took first. Eh, I wouldn’t call it fun but it was something to do.

What else?  Apparently there is a weekend street market here.

Did some shopping at the commissary yesterday.  It is half the size of the one in Yongsan so it stands to reason the selection will not be as good.  Still, it was disappointing that so many things I’m accustomed to buying are not available here.

So that’s how things are so far.  Stay tuned.

Well, I made it down to Pyeongtaek.  Barely.

As I was leaving my office for the drive I noticed something dripping underneath the front of my car.  I dipped my finger in the liquid and it was the color and consistency of transmission fluid.  Except it made no sense that it should be dripping from the front end. Maybe it was power steering fluid?

Well, I briefly considered nixing the trip until I could get it checked out.  But I had already loaded my work computer and monitors in the back seat.  So I figured I’d roll the dice.

I questioned my judgement thirty minutes into the drive when I noticed some unusual surges.  But I was on a packed expressway and had no idea where I’d go if I exited.  So I continued on.  Things seemed to settle down and I cruised along at 100 kph for most of the rest of the way.  As I entered Camp Humphreys there was some slippage, but I made it to the new headquarters building without further incident.

Off loaded the computer and figured I’d go to my Star Palace and drop off some stuff I’d carried down for the house.  And that’s when my car had had enough.  The tranny would barley engage, and my top speed was less than 20 kph and dropping fast.  I put the shift into low gear and was able to crawl out the main gate, turn left, and pull into a auto repair shop.

The owner spoke excellent English and advised me he could rebuild the transmission for “500”.  That’s about what my 1999 Hyundai is worth, but what are you going to do?  He said it might be ready for me tomorrow.  Hailed a cab and piled some of my shit in the trunk and back seat and guided him to my new place.  I was disappointed that when I announced “Star Palace” as my destination he didn’t have a clue.

Ah well.  More adventures to come I sure.

…in Pyeongtaek.

My new home town

Signed the lease today on the “Star Palace”.  It’s a done deal.  Just over $3000 per month, including utilities.  Thank you Uncle Sam!

Tonight is the last night in my humble villa here in Itaewon.  I’ll sleep at the Crown Hotel tomorrow and drive on down the road to Pyeongtaek on Friday.

Packers in tomorrow morning.  Then a final cleaning before I exit.  Close on with the landlord here on Friday morning. Stuff will be delivered to my new abode on Saturday.

It’s time for a change.

Camp Humphreys that is.

You’d think I was from Moscow the way I was rushin’ around on Tuesday morning. Wanted to catch the 0700 bus from Yongsan Garrison to Pyeongtaek.  I was there on time. In fact I was two weeks early.  The 0700 doesn’t begin to run until May 15th.  Ah well, the 0800 got me there in time for my 1000 meeting with my realtor.

Now, I had previously looked at a monster of a house.  Way too big for me (4 bedrooms/4 baths, 2 living rooms and an office), but in the location I was seeking (downtown Anjeong-ri). The issue was whether the landlord would accept a short term lease.  Here’s how it works–I’m given LQA (living quarters allowance) based on my pay grade.  Realtors want to max out your authorized LQA amount because that equals a larger commission.  I get that, and my efforts to be shown smaller places in the neighborhood fell on deaf ears. The realtor convinced the landlord to rent to me for four months, so I’ll be living in a palace.  I’m going back to sign the lease next Wednesday.

The last time Uncle Sam paid my rent I was living in a building called “Royal Palace”. Now my house is named “Star Palace”. I guess that’s progress.

Given the short period I’m committing to, the landlord was unwilling to completely furnish the house.  I told the realtor to just move everything  from upstairs to the first floor and I’d make do.  The downstairs is bigger than my current residence and I don’t use all this space.

The movers are packing me out in Seoul on Thursday and if I can work out the logistics of closing out with the landlord here (i.e. turning in the keys and getting my 5 million deposit back) I’ll be living in my digs on Friday.  Monday at the latest.  Ain’t life grand?

With my business completed with the realtor, I walked around town some.  I was really taken aback by just how quiet the area is compared to Seoul.  That will take some getting used to, but as a pedestrian I have to admit the lack of traffic is pretty nice.

Anjeong-ri has everything you need. Except the tumbleweed.

And just like we say in Itaewon, “meet me at the Hamilton”…

Your spelling may vary.

I wanted to check out the walk from my new digs to my new office space in the 8A HQ building.  It’s about 30 minutes hoofing it to the gate nearest HQ.  When I arrived there I noted that the walk-in part of the gate access was still under construction.  Security would not let use the vehicle entrance, so I turned around to make my way back the main gate in Anjeong-ri.  Then I spotted a vacant cab with the tell-tell base access window sticker so I shouted out “Yogio!” and he turned around and drove me to my office.

I’ll be working on the top floor of the building in this fine office.  Not as big and nicely furnished as my current digs, but size doesn’t matter.  That’s what she said anyway.

Speaking of size, Camp Humphreys is HUGE!  The largest military base outside the USA, taking up about the same square miles as the District of Columbia.  And it is bisected by an airfield, which means driving and walking to anywhere is by necessity done in a roundabout fashion.  From the garrison bus depot near the commissary and PX it took 30 minutes to walk to the main gate.  From my office back to bus station was a good 45 minute walk.

I do believe all that walking was my personal best one day effort.

Now I’m back in Seoul packing out my old office.  And I came upon this relic from my previous tenure:

Words of wisdom from the book “Who moved my cheese?“. I’d had this made and left it with my successor when I retired all those years ago. I had frankly forgotten all about the book and it’s message. But yes, my cheese did get moved but hopefully I’m on my way to finding some new cheese.  There’s some wisdom to be gained here. Don’t mourn the old cheese. Finding new cheese is life’s adventure.

Ah, I see now I wrote about it on my last day at work in 2010.  Little did I know what heartbreak lay ahead of me.

Okay, here’s the book condensed into a 16 minute animated video.  Thanks Google!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16hxCB1Dvd4