It is down right cold today.  And although I didn’t have to rise at o’dark-thirty for work, I still found myself commuting to Yongsan Garrison this morning.

Since Jee Yeun had to go to Soonchunhwang hospital for blood work, we took the 110A bus together. That Korean woman seated behind us did a nice little photo bomb, intentional or not.

Back in the day I went to a few bars that some folks considered “meat markets”. So, I enjoyed seeing the “welcome to the meat market” sign on the bus ride this morning.

Crappy photography aside, I did have a serious mission to attend to at the Army base this today.  Three months into my employment with the Education Center I still have not managed to acquire access to the Army computer network.  The big boss told me yesterday to “git ‘er done”, hence necessitating spending the day off in the workplace.

To make a boring story short, I eventually found a way to digitally sign a required form and submit it to my boss using my gmail.  Of course, there were some mistakes oversights on my part that require correction.  However once you sign the form digitally it cannot be altered.  Which means tomorrow I’ll spend part of my work day replicating what I managed to accomplish in three hours today.  At least I’ll be getting paid for it.

In other news, more dart drama last night although this time it did not involve me.  Having used my entire allocation of drama already, I’m not going to be sucked into this battle. Suffice to say it took the fun out of an otherwise pleasant evening in which I threw relatively well, although we lost the match by one point.

What else?  I purchased a new VPN provider service so that I might enjoy my Netflix and Amazon Prime TV and movies here in Korea.  I went with IPVanish, which seems to work well (meaning fast) so now i have yet another way to keep myself entertained.

And that dear reader is where things stand as of now.  Thanks for checking in.

Goin’ down…

The big event of this day that is now drawing to a close was my journey to the commissary to restock the larders.  Turns out Saturday afternoon was not my best decision.  The commissary itself was fine, didn’t even have to wait in line for a checker.  And when I exited the store there was a taxi waiting for a fare.  So, I gave him one to Ichon station.  And that’s when it got dicey.  The first train to come by was jammed packed, almost like morning rush hour.  I saw there was another train coming in four minutes, so I opted for that one.  Alas, it was every bit as full as the preceding train.  So with a backpack full of canned goods, a freezer bag, and a large re-usable shopping bag I squeezed on in.  And wound up standing for the entire trip.  Now, I could have just had the taxi carry me all the way to Gireum I suppose, but for some reason I just can’t bring myself to spend W20,000 to carry groceries home.  Although I have no problem dropping that much (or more) at the bar on darts night.  Priorities.

Speaking of darts, I threw some lousy drunken darts last night.  It was a bit of a fiasco, as I got caught “crop dusting” more than once.  I was too drunk to be embarrassed at the time, but was full of regrets this morning.

Anyway, the over-indulgence seems to be a recurring issue on Friday nights.  The problem being I finish work at 4:00 and have no where to go except the bar to await the 7:30 start of the tourney.  So, that’s three or four beers before I even start playing, and truthfully three or four ought to be my limit period.  You’d think at my age I would have learned the value of moderation.  Well, I will try to do better in the future.

Alrighty then, let’s call it a night.

My tooth starting hurting Tuesday night.  Being on the cusp of the long Seollal holiday I figured I’d have to tough it out until next Tuesday (Monday being a workday).  For the first couple of days I managed the pain with large doses of Tylenol and Alleve.   By Friday though those wonder drugs were not having much impact.  I also read the warning label which advised in bold print that taking acetaminophen at the dose I was consuming and drinking three or more alcoholic drinks could lead to liver damage.  Knowing that Friday night darts were looming I went out and purchased some old fashioned Bayer aspirin.

When I arrived at the bar the pain was approaching a level best described as excruciating, despite having recently downed three tablets of Bayer and so I decided to visit experts that I found on he OB’s I was drinking did seem to take the edge off the pain some, so I kept on drinking them until I was in a state of inebriation.  The tooth probably still hurt, I just didn’t care anymore.  I experienced a good night of drunken slumber, but awoke this morning with the pain back at full volume.  In desperation, I dialed the number for the U.S. Dentist clinic I had visited when I encountered similar difficulties last year.

A masculine sounding female answered “hello” in English.  I said “is this Dr.?”  She replied affirmatively so I asked if she was open today and joy of joys she was.  I told her I was suffering and asked if she could see me today.  She said she’d call back in 30 minutes, and true to her word she did and offered me an 11:00. As I suspected, I was once again experiencing the agony of an abscess.  This time it was in a “live” tooth and as I expected the recommended treatment was a root canal.  That little prick in my mouth was a blessing.  (I’m talking about the Novocaine shot you sick bastards.)  Once I was numb Dr.  set about removing the offending nerves that had led to my misery and in less than an hour the work was done.  It set me back W450,000 but you really can’t put a price tag on elimination of pain, right?  I’ll go back next week for the crown which will also no doubt be as expensive as it necessary.  Easy come, easy go and all that jazz.

Having not eaten since noon on Friday I came home from the dentist feeling hungry.  So I set about preparing a remedy.

I’ve never cooked in one of these Korean stoneware pots before.

Turns out they are perfect for making chili! Back home I always used a slow cooker, but this method worked just as well and was a damn site quicker.

And damn it was delicious, if I do say so myself. Now, I like my chili with cornbread but given my lack of a proper oven, I made do with a baguette from where else, Paris Baguette.

After consuming two bowls, I took the antibiotic capsule prescribed b.  Then I took a nap.  I awoke refreshed and pain free!  Woo Hoo!

Finally, there’s this:

This was posted above the urinal in the subway restroom. Given my lack of reading skills I imagined it was the urinal’s unhappy response to being pissed on all day, everyday. Alas, Jee Yeun says it’s an advertisement for men who have trouble with urination. Me, I have the opposite problem. I have to pee so frequently it’s downright embarrassing.

And that’s all I’ve got for you today.  Well, there is the song I always sing to myself while reclining in Dr.  dental chair.

Happy Lunar New Year, or as they say in Korea, Seollal.  I’m glad to see that I’m not the only one confused about whether this is the year of the Lamb, Sheep or Goat.  Me, I’m going with Ram.  Sue me.

What I like best about this three day holiday is Seoul actually slows down a bit, with a goodly portion of the population heading out of town for family gatherings.

Wednesday morning 0700, line 4, Gireum to Samgakji. I normally have to stand for half the trip, but not yesterday. And my bus ride out to K-16 took half the normal time. Is this a great country or what?

UPDATE:

I guess yesterday was the calm before the storm.

I have prevailed in my battle with Blue Cross for reimbursement of a claim for my comprehensive physical at Soonchunhwang hospital last April.  They paid $1288. on a bill of $1378., which is admittedly pretty sweet.  But they didn’t make it easy.

On the other hand, I have to pay the insurance on my stateside house, which coincidentally is $1300.  So, I guess the universe (or at least my bank account) is in balance.

I had to chuckle over a cc: email I received regarding my security clearance application.  It basically said “this guy held a higher level clearance than you are asking for now, so we don’t need to do another background investigation”.  Which is what I’ve been saying all along.  Anyway, I now have the clearance required for me to be permitted to utilize the DoD computer network.

So, I spent the better part of my non-work day today at the Yongsan office of my employer trying to get my access to said computer network squared away.  I have to submit a form with my electronic signature to request access, which of course means I have to do it online.  And while I have succeeded in getting my electronic signature to work, I can’t submit the required form because I can’t access the computer network.  Someone should write a book about military Catch-22’s.  Oh wait, they did.

Anyway, I think the problem is that I’m still in the system under my former life as a civilian employee.  I now need to be re-designated as a contractor, but my efforts to accomplish that online were fruitless “that SSN is already being utilized by an account holder” was all I could get from AKO (Army Knowledge Online).  Which means I’m going to have to speak with a human being on the help desk back in the states.  Which I guess will mean staying up late one of these nights.

Well, I did manage to take the required training that is a prerequisite for being granted access to the network.  It took over an hour and was pretty much common sense.  I really liked the section on identifying “internal security threats”.  It was a little interactive game where you had to note the classic characteristics of Edward Snowden someone who wants to steal and misuse government secrets.  I caught all of those deceptive bastards!

I passed the final exam and will upload the results.  Once I’m granted access to the network.  Which can’t happen until I’ve uploaded the results.

And the circle remains unbroken.