Author Archives: John McCrarey

About John McCrarey

Born and raised in southern California. My career exodus has taken me to Arizona, Oklahoma, Arkansas, South Carolina, Virginia, and Washington, DC. And as of 23 January 2005, Seoul, Korea. Married with 6 grown children (blended family). First grandchild is in the oven! I created this blog to document my adventures as an expat living and working in Korea. I'm also pretty confident that I will on occasion feel the need to express my views on current events and other matters I find of interest.

People at work

Posted on by
Reply

So, in keeping with the theme of my working life, here’s a photo of my coworkers (well, the picture was taken on October 11, so my coworkers at that time).

My new family in Korea.

My new family in Korea.

 

L-R Front Row: Corine Rodriguez; Kim, Yong-im; Yi, Kyong-ae; Sharon Alsop; Yi, Yong-in; So, Chong Cho; Yi, Tok Hui; Joel Springer
L-R Back Row: Choe, Song Won; Donna Cole; Kim, Yong-tae; Me; Bill Dyer; Leora Andersen; Bosong Mayer. (not pictured: Walt Washington)

Handsome group, eh? You can see our cool shed that serves as office space in the background.

So, since October 11 here’s what changed: Walt died. Corine left for a job in DC. Joel left for a promotion in HR at Installation Management Command-Korea. Donna has accepted a lateral assignment at the Civilian Personnel Advisory Center (CPAC) in Yongsan (although we are not releasing her until we have a replacement selected). Leora also took a job at the CPAC and left last week. Bosong took a job at the U.S. Embassy and leaves after next week.

As you might imagine, things are pretty f’d up at work right now. We are at 33% of our (already lean) U.S. staffing authorization. At this point we are just trying to avoid a critical mission failure, but my stress level is way up there. We will get through this. I’ve actually found replacements for Bosong, Joel, and Corine, although they won’t come on board until late January. Just got to suck it up until then.

You know, I don’t fault people for doing what they need to do to advance their careers. In a way, it’s a compliment when your people get promoted. Donna to her credit has been a real trooper in delaying her departure pending getting some new staff on board. I’m extremely disappointed in one individual that I consider selfish and disloyal. Everyone is replaceable though. And you burn bridges at your own peril. ‘Nuff said about that.

So that should bring y’all up to speed on my working life. Far be it from me to complain…

The Korea Cookie Lady

Posted on by
1

Another recent change in my work life was the loss of Corine Rodriguez. No, she didn’t do anything as dramatic as dying, but her returning to the U.S. has been devastating nonetheless. Yes, she is that good.

Corine accepted a big promotion with the Army Corps of Engineers in Washington, DC. I can’t fault her for that, especially when she gave me 2 1/2 years of devoted service. And she was lonely here and missed her family. So, it was the saddest of all the many partings I’ve experienced here. Yes, I miss having the go to person on my staff who I could rely on to get the job done right. But she was also my friend and a trusted confidant. As she said when she left, “you are going to miss having a big sister around”. ‘Tis true, ’tis true.

I’ve actually known Corine professionally for many years. We both spent the majority of our careers with the Postal Service. She was one of the few people at Postal Headquarters I could call on and get a straight answer. When I left the States she came to my going away party and I think we both figured it was the last time we would ever see each other. So, I was pleasantly surprised when she applied for a vacancy on my team six months later. Of course, I had the good sense to snatch her up, and her outstanding work made me look like a genius.

She headed up our transformation to the new National Security Personnel System, a major initiative that was extremely high profile. One of those projects that require frequent interaction with command leadership, including the Commanding General. Well, she is quite the charmer, and LTG Valcourt was impressed enough by her performance to present her with one of his coins and the Superior Civilian Service Award.

corinescs1.JPG

Corine getting pinned by the CG

corinescs2.JPG

The medal presentation took place at the weekly Battle Staff meeting, so all the brass on the Korean Peninsula was in attendance (live or via VTC). Corine told General Valcourt “now I have medals too, just like you!”. Which was funnier live than I make it sound here.

Anyway, Corine did Korea right. Made many friends, was active in church and the community, and did a fair amount of traveling. So she took many fine memories home with her.

Here’s an example of the kind of person Corine is. One weekend per month she spent baking boxes and boxes of cookies to send to our troops in Iraq. And the letters she got back in thanks were always quite moving. The 8th Army Chief of Staff recognized her with an award for Patriotic Civilian Service. She cried when she received it and said later it meant more to her than the Superior Civilian Service Award because this one was about doing something for others. I had the honor of preparing her nomination package for the Chief and this is what I wrote:

Justification for Certificate of Appreciation for Patriotic Civilian Service

The vast majority of Americans are justifiably proud to say “I support our troops”. Perhaps too few of us put forth the effort to demonstrate that support in a tangible way. That has not been the case for Corine Rodriguez, also known affectionately by many Soldiers in Iraq as the “Korea cookie lady”. Each month for nearly two years Ms. Rodriguez has taken it upon herself to prepare several large boxes of fresh baked cookies to send to the troops serving on the front lines of the Global War on Terror. She does this at a considerable expenditure of her personal time, money, and effort. She often jokes that she expects the “ration control police” to knock on her door inquiring about the vast amounts of butter she has purchased at the commissary. Her reward has been many cards and letters from Soldiers expressing appreciation for Ms. Rodriguez’ generosity, her baking talent, and most importantly how much it meant to them to be remembered. Without fail, these brave men and women also thanked Ms. Rodriguez for her service in support of the Army on “Freedom’s Frontier” in Korea.

Perhaps this story best illustrates the far reaching positive impact Ms. Rodriguez’ gifts from the heart have had on the welfare of Army personnel in Iraq. Recently, while TDY in Atlanta, DHRM Director Sharon Alsop was chatting with a Soldier who was returning from leave to Iraq. She mentioned that COL Kidd, the former 8th Army Chief of Staff, was also serving in Iraq. The Soldier responded that he was working for COL Kidd. He then asked if Ms. Alsop knew the “cookie lady” from Korea, and when she responded that Ms. Rodriguez worked for her, the Soldier talked at great length about how everyone always looked forward to those boxes of cookies, how fast they disappeared, and how much it meant to the troops that she worked so hard on their behalf.

Sometimes the smallest gesture or act of kindness can have a tremendous impact on the morale of those serving under the harshest of conditions. Ms. Rodriguez’ generosity of spirit exemplifies how civilians can make positive contributions to the well being of our armed forces. Her dedication and initiative clearly warrants the honor and recognition associated with the Certificate of Appreciation for Patriotic Civilian Service.

PROPOSED CITATION

Certificate of Appreciation for Patriotic Civilian Service is awarded to:

Corine T. Rodriguez

In recognition of her contributions to the morale and welfare of our troops serving in Iraq. Each month for nearly two years, Ms. Rodriguez, also known as the “Korea cookie lady”, has taken it upon herself to prepare several large boxes of fresh baked cookies to send to the troops serving on the front lines of the Global War on Terror. She does this at a considerable expenditure of her personal time, money, and effort. Ms. Rodriguez’ generosity exemplifies patriotic civilian service in support of the mission, Army values, and the well being of our Soldiers.

Corine Rodriguez: A great employee, a wonderful person, and the best “big sister” I ever did have.

Obituary

Posted on by
Reply

I wrote an obituary today for the Army Civilian Human Resources Bulletin.

Here it is:

It is with sadness and regret that we note the passing of Mr. Walter E. Washington, Deputy Director, Directorate of Human Resources Management, Eighth United States Army. Mr. Washington died 29 October 2007 following a long and courageous battle with cancer.

Mr. Washington had served as the DHRM Deputy Director since 2003. His outstanding leadership, dedication, and technical expertise will be sorely missed throughout the command. His many contributions were recently recognized by the 8th Army Commanding General with the presentation of the Superior Civilian Service Award.

Mr. Washington began his civilian personnel career at San Diego, California as a Department of the Navy Intern with Naval Air Station, North Island. After completing his internship, he served as a Position Classification Specialist with Commander U.S. Naval Forces, Japan in 1985. Between 1986 and 1999, Mr. Washington held the positions of Chief, Integrated Wage and
Classification Branch; Chief, U.S. Staffing Branch; and Chief, Operations Division, Human Resources Office, Commander U.S. Naval Forces, Japan. In October 1999, Mr. Washington transferred to the Korea Region Civilian Personnel Operations Center, Taegu, Korea as a Personnel Staffing Specialist and in March 2001, he transferred to the Directorate of Human Resources Management, Eighth US Army as a Human Resources Management Specialist.
Mr. Washington was promoted to Deputy in November 2003.

Mr. Washington’s legacy lives on through the many people he helped and mentored throughout his long and successful career. His peers and coworkers will always remember him for his professionalism, honesty, guidance, and friendship.

Walt was my boss. He had the confidence to select me to work in an important position even though I had no Army or DoD experience. We worked closely together on many issues and he really helped me learn and understand military culture and protocol.

When I first arrived in Korea he and his lovely wife Miseon had me to their home for dinner and really helped me feel welcome. I also attended his “Korean” wedding (they had been married several months earlier in the States). Here’s a picture from those happier days:

walt.jpg

Walt had first been diagnosed with bone cancer about ten years ago. He had a successful bone marrow transplant and had been in remission. Last year the cancer came back. We all encouraged him to return to the U.S. for treatment, but he was a stubborn cuss. So, he began treatment at a Korean hospital and it wasn’t pretty. Lots of communication issues and drug therapy with side effects that sometimes seemed worse than the cancer. Even as we watched his condition steadily deteriorate, he and Miseon were convinced that he would beat the cancer. Yes, they were in complete denial, but the strength of their faith was quite inspirational. Walt was no quitter, that’s for sure. Whenever he could manage it he kept coming to work, despite his obvious pain and discomfort.

I don’t know why he kept holding on. He was eligible to retire. He had a beautiful young wife who all but worshiped him, but maybe work was his lifeline and he wasn’t ready to let it go.

I was in Busan in early October and got a call on my cellphone from Miseon. Walt had taken a turn for the worse and the drugs were making him hard to control. The doctors said there was nothing more they could do and suggested he return to the States for treatment that was not available in Korea.

It turns out it is very difficult to get a civilian medically evacuated. After several days of dead ends we finally found a “legal” to fly him and Miseon to North Carolina for treatment at Duke University Hospital. I saw them the day before they flew and they both were optimistic that this new drug program would work or that he could get a second marrow transplant. Miseon called after they arrived and was very excited because the Duke people were so caring and had assigned a team of doctors just for him. They had run many tests and she was certain he would be getting better soon.

Two days later she called after getting the test results. The cancer had spread throughout his body and there was nothing they could do for him. They said at most he had days or weeks to live. Miseon was devastated.

Walt died less than two weeks later, one month shy of his 57th birthday. Corine (a coworker who took a job in DC last month) represented the DHRM staff at the funeral. His Superior Civilian Service Award citation was read during the service, and Corine pinned the medal on Walt.

So, that was that. I have been doing Walt’s job and mine these past few months and it looks like I will be “promoted” into the Deputy position permanently (I was a GS-14 before coming to Korea and can be placed non-competitively). Miseon is back in Korea and I am trying to sell Walt’s car for her. And life goes on for the rest of us.

About darts…

Posted on by
Reply

Another dart league season has drawn to a close. Kind of a mixed bag for the Take it Easy boys this time around. We finished in 5th Place, but we had a hell of a good time doing it. We lost a couple of players (military guys that rotated out), but played with a lot of heart and we were competitive in most of our matches. And we qualified for the playoffs where anything is possible.

Blessed Bulls, from our neighbor bar Bless U Pub, took the league championship this year after a real dogfight with the reigning champions from 3 Alley Pub. It was decided on the last night of the season. The other top team is Eberhardt from Scrooge Pub. The have a couple of tough players and really came on strong at the end.

Monday night we will play the guys from Wolfhound, with the unlikely team name of Cake Mix. They are also a quality team, but we managed to eek out two victories in head-to-head play during the season. Of course, all bets are off in a single elimination playoff round.

The two players we lost this year were Mario and Cuatro. Mario left at the beginning of the season, but we really missed his heart, spirit, and clutch darts all season. Cuatro is also a big loss. He left two weeks ago and was ranked #5 in our division. We had him in both of our previous match ups with Wolfhound, so we will really have to kick it up a notch come Monday night.

I had a decent season, although I was a little disappointed that I didn’t play with a little more consistency. I had nights when I couldn’t miss, and other nights when I was mediocre at best. I went through a couple of weeks when I just could not hit the 20 with any regularity, and that is a killer in cricket. My ’01 game was ok, except it is taking me too many darts to close. With the exception of one or two legs, I had a shot at the double out in every game that I lost. No excuse for that. Anyway, I finished ranked #4, down from my second place ranking last season. I don’t feel too bad about that because the two guys who passed me have been playing awesome darts, week in and week out. My Canadian buddy Craig (aka The Goat) wound up with the number 1 spot, and he definitely earned it. Congrats!

On the bright side, I finished first in 5 marks, and second in 6 marks. I also threw my first 9 mark in competition. So, all in all I am not unhappy. If you are interested, check out the webpage for the Seoul International Dart League (SIDL) and follow along as we attempt to pull off some upsets in the playoffs.

Just to prove what a dart fanatic I have become, I went back and crunched some numbers to try and measure my progress as a darter. Here are the results:

Season 1: 38-25 (60.32%) 6.49 quality points and 21 total marks

Season 2: 92-22 (80.70%) 8.54 quality points and 44 total marks

Season 3: 66-21 (75.86%) 8.29 quality points and 50 total marks

Current: 70-23 (75.27%) 8.54 quality points and 83 total marks

So, if you just look at winning percentage I appear to have hit the ceiling as far as improvement goes (ok, strictly speaking, regressing). But you really can’t measure performance on wins alone because there are too many variables. For example, it depends on who you play. I think I drew the top players from other teams more frequently this season, and you can throw well and lose in that situation. Another variable is doubles where the outcome also depends on your partner (I played cricket doubles with Cuatro most of the season, and we played excellent, so that is not an excuse).

Quality points is a mathematical formula based on wins, marks, and legs played. While a better measure than winning percentage, wins are still worth 10 QPs, and marks are worth between 1 and 5 QPs. After my rookie season, I’ve been pretty consistent in that regard.

So, being a “glass half-full” kinda guy, I choose to measure progress by marks thrown. Marks are scoring 5 or more hits per throw in cricket (i.e. a triple and two singles or two triples etc.), or scoring 100+ points in ’01. In that regard I showed marked improvement this season. So, I will call that a positive trend. If I can improve consistency and do a better job with my mental focus I can hopefully take my game to the next level.

Still with me? If so, I’m worried about you. But that won’t stop me. I’m also playing in a Thursday night soft tips league (you know, those monstrous machines that make a lot of noise and require you to feed them copious amounts of money). I joined somewhat reluctantly because I really don’t have a feel for it and I worry that it will affect my steel tip play (I throw 26 gram darts versus 16 grams in soft tips). Bottom line, I really stink at soft tips. My darts are like butterflies in a strong wind as they meander to the board. Just don’t have a sense of control and it is frankly embarrassing to play as poorly as I do. I’m no quitter so I will finish out the season, but absent some miracle it may be a one time thing.

Ok, that’s enough darts for one night, don’t ya think?

So, where did I leave off?

Posted on by
1

Well, it doesn’t really matter because not much has changed here since my last post way back in August. Well, the leaves have changed because summer is long gone and autumn is in her death throes. It’s actually been quite beautiful, I love the yellow and red leaves blowing about the city streets like confetti. Bleah, my writing has not much improved has it?

Anyway, I’m not going to try and catch you up on everything in one fell swoop. First, it would be boring as hell. And second, after my long hiatus I expect I’m down to literally one or two faithful readers and they probably can guess what’s been up. But thanks Jenn and Susan and Nomad for checking up on me. I actually had a couple of other acquaintances ask what happened to my blog and expressed some remorse that I was not posting. As did my mother. So, I may never have had many readers, but damn those few of you are loyal. I did miss my little blog more than I would have imagined and I am resolved to post with some semblance of regularity now that I have her back. I know, promises, promises.

For those curious about why my account was suspended so long I’ll share that story. Even though it makes me look stupid. It was really all just a misunderstanding. Here’s how it went down:

Way back when (late August, early September) I happened to check my credit card statement. I only do so periodically as I am lazy and disorganized. And it is actually not a credit card, it is the debit card for my checking account. So, I see this charge to “West Bend Web” for $172.80. And by God, I never even heard of West Bend Web and I damn sure didn’t make a purchase from them through PayPal.

So, I marched on down to my bank (which is actually a credit union) and in my outrage filed a dispute and canceled my debit card since someone had obviously stolen the number somehow.
About a week later I get a letter from the credit union saying they had notified PayPal of the dispute and had provisionally credited my account in the amount of $172.80. Ok, so far so good.

A couple of days later my blog was suspended. What’s up with that? I went to the help page at Blogs-about.com (my blog host) and initiated a claim ticket. I started this blog in December 2004 so I figured I was paid up until December (I pay annually) and besides, I had never gotten a bill. It took several days for Blogs-about to get back to me with the news that PayPal had rescinded my payment in the amount of $172.80. Oops!

Turns out, I had been on a month-to-month basis until August 2005, and then switched over to the annual payment. Not that I remembered doing that. And it also seems that I set this up as an automatic payment, which is why I never got a bill. Well. Geez. So, I’m stupid, ok?

And then began the nightmare of trying to reverse the events my ignorance had set in motion. First, I went back to the credit union and said “my bad, West Bend Web is the name Blogs-about uses for billing (no, I don’t know why, but that’s what caused the confusion) so, please withdraw the dispute.” A few days later I get the letter confirming that the dispute was withdrawn and advising that the $172.80 credit was being reversed. Ok. So, I figure PayPal would remit the money to West Bend and I would be back in business. Nope.

After waiting a few days, I went back to Blogs-about and asked what was going on. They said PayPal had not remitted the funds and I should contact them for the status. Trust me, if you have never navigated the Byzantine world that is PayPal consider yourself fortunate.

Since I had made a disputed payment claim, they had blocked my account. To reinstate my account. I had to jump through several hoops. One of which involved FAXing my credit card statement. Except I had canceled that account. The other involved FAXing a utility bill from the address on my account, which is in Virginia. And as most of you know, I live in Korea these days. And oh yeah, PayPal has no record of the $172.80 being remitted by my bank.

So, I found a phone number for the PayPal folks and actually talked to a real live human being. I explained the situation in detail and the kind female voice on the other end of the line was very understanding and promised to see what she could do.

A couple of days later I received an email from PayPal explaining in step-by-step detail what I needed to do to reinstate the the account. And yes, it involved a credit card statement for an account that no longer exists and a utility bill from a place I no longer reside. And no mention whatsoever of the $172.80 that was withdrawn from my account. Hmm.

So, I emailed the woman at the credit union (in San Diego) who had handled my initial dispute and got an “out of office” reply indicating she was no longer employed there. I then emailed the contact address at the credit union explaining the situation and got a form letter reply with a dispute form attached. Yeah, that worked out well for me last time!

So. I decided to try and work an end-around. I registered for a new PayPal account (which required me to use a new email address (only one account per email address apparently). To establish a new account PayPal bills your credit card $1.95. When that charge appears on your statement there is a four-digit number. Then you send that number to PayPal and you are verified and can make purchases. This took about a week.

So, with my new account in hand I paid for a new subscription at Blogs-about. And waited. And waited. And wrote the help desk. And wrote the help desk again. And then in the wee dark hours of last night, my blog as if by magic reappeared.

Meanwhile, I have no idea where the $172.80 currently resides. I’m wondering if the woman at the credit union took it with her. Assuming PayPal has the money, it will be placed in the account I can no longer use because I can’t verify I am who I say I am.

So, after all this hassle all I’ve got to show is a blog I’ve paid twice for and this crappy post. Well, I’m not done fighting to get this resolved but I’m pretty much exhausted at this point and lord knows what havoc I will wreak by filing a new dispute with the credit union. Stay tuned for more of my exciting life.

Ok, I also need to bring you up to speed on my dart life and happenings at the office. But we will save those posts for another day. I have my Korean lesson tonight and I have not studied since the last one. I’m learning verbs these days which I think may be a key ingredient to me speaking in actual sentences someday. I have an amazing vocabulary consisting of fruits, animals, seasons, body parts and the like, but practically speaking, it’s not much help in conversation with the natives. Although one night when a Korean guy called me a hippo I said “do you mean hama?”. He was quite impressed with my grasp of the language. Well, hell, I can order beer and ask where the bathroom is in Korean. Really, what else do you need to know?

History Lesson

Posted on by
2

Although I am loathe to jump right back into politics, I got the following in my email today and thought I would offer it up for your consideration:

Humans originally existed as members of small bands of nomadic hunters/gatherers. They lived on deer in the mountains during the summer and would go to the coast and live on fish and lobster in the winter.

The two most important events in all of history were the invention of beer and the invention of the wheel. The wheel was invented to get man to the beer. These were the foundation of modern civilization and together were the catalyst for the splitting of humanity into two distinct subgroups:
1. Liberals
2. Conservatives

Once beer was discovered, it required grain and that was the beginning of agriculture. Neither the glass bottle nor aluminum can were invented yet, so while our early humans were sitting around waiting for them to be invented, they just stayed close to the brewery. That’s how villages were formed. Some men spent their days tracking and killing animals to B-B-Q at night while they were drinking beer. This was the beginning of what is known as the Conservation movement. Other men who were weaker and less skilled at hunting learned to live off the conservatives by showing up for the nightly B-B-Q’s and doing the sewing, fetching, and hair dressing. This was the beginning of the Liberal movement. Some of these liberal men eventually evolved into women. The rest became known as girlie-men. Some noteworthy liberal achievements include the domestication of cats, the invention of group therapy, group hugs, and the concept of Democratic voting to decide how to divide the meat and beer that conservatives provided.

Over the years conservatives came to be symbolized by the largest, most powerful land animal on earth, the elephant. Liberals are symbolized by the jackass. Modern liberals like imported beer (with lime added), but most prefer white wine or imported bottled water. They eat raw fish but like their beef well done. Sushi, tofu, and French food are standard liberal fare. Another interesting evolutionary side note: most of their women have higher testosterone levels than their men. Most social workers, attorneys, journalists, dreamers in Hollywood and group therapists are liberals. Liberals invented the designated hitter rule because it wasn’t fair to make the pitcher also bat.

Conservatives drink domestic beer. They eat red meat and still provide for their women.
Conservatives are big-game hunters, rodeo cowboys, lumberjacks, construction workers, firemen, medical doctors, police officers, corporate executives, athletes, Marines, sailors, airmen, soldiers, and generally anyone who works productively. Conservatives who own companies hire other conservatives who want to work for a living. Liberals produce little or nothing. They like to govern the producers and decide what to do with the production.

Liberals believe Europeans are more enlightened than Americans That is why most of the liberals remained in Europe when conservatives were coming to America. They crept in after the Wild West was tamed and created a business of trying to get more for nothing.

Here ends today’s lesson in world history: It should be noted that a Liberal may have a momentary urge to angrily respond to the above before forwarding it. A Conservative will simply laugh and be so convinced of the absolute truth of this history that it will be forwarded immediately to other true believers and to more liberals just to hack them off.

So, there you have it.

I’m back!

Posted on by
1

Well, it has been a long time gone, hasn’t it?

No time to catch you up right now as I must get to work. Tonight. Promise.

Jenn, thanks for missing me! You noticed my blog had been reinstated before I did (but then, I wasn’t surfing the ‘net at 3 a.m.!)

Anyway, it’s good to be back. I’ve missed y’all.

Another year older

Posted on by
5

So, I made it to and through another birthday. All in all it was a good one. While getting older generally sucks it beats the hell out of the alternative. And so I would gladly settle for a couple dozen more.

Anyway, there was a little party in my honor at Dolce Vita on Sunday. I tend to want to keep these things low key, but this was really very nice. Mostly my dart league buds, and of course we had a little tournament. Which I managed to win after a shootout with Colin that went down to the wire in all three legs. YJ had some good food brought in and I think we all had a good time. I know I did. Thanks everyone!

Last year I partied with Duke and Ji Young. His birthday is the 25th. He’s back in the USA now, but I was surprised to get a text message from him wishing me well. Thanks, man! I also got a text from Ji Young signed “your best friends girlfriend”. Heh, she most of heard me singing that about it her one drunken night. Anyway, I wrote back and asked her how her visit to America went and she responded that Duke proposed and sent a picture with a big diamond on her finger. Congratulations, I am happy for you both!

Monday at work the staff took me out for lunch at the Navy Club. They have a nice menu with various American comfort food. I had the pot roast and mashed potatoes. Excellent as always. That afternoon a package from my daughter Renee arrived filled with her favorite DVDs. Perfect gift since I never know what to buy anymore. And they ain’t bootlegged so I can enjoy some quality viewing for a change.

Last night was dart league and I didn’t let an 11-8 defeat to Eberhardt of Scrooge Pub get me down. I played fair, taking 5 of 6 legs. Lonnie took an ’01 game from the top ranked player. Jim lost a heart breaker in cricket, and Rick just flat off his game. Also, Cuatro was not available because of the military exercise. So, with a little luck we will turn things around soon.

Wanna see pictures from my party? Ok, here they are:

bday1.JPG
The gracious host and Dolce Vita owner YJ.

bday2.JPG
Leora works with me. That’s her hubby Dave.

bday3.JPG
Me getting a birthday hug from Yoon Jung.

bday41.JPG
Some folks from work, Dave, Leora, Corine and Diane.

bday5.JPG
Joon was pretty generous with her hugs, here she puts a smile on Jim’s face.

bday6.JPG
Bill and Se Hwa.

bday13.JPG
Eric and his lovely wife.

bday7.JPG
Joon saved a hug for her hubby Bill.

bday8.JPG
My Canadian buddy Colin and his squeeze Mi Young. We all went out after the tourney Friday and ate some Korean food, went to the country bar and then the noreabang. I think we had fun but that night is still a little fuzzy for some reason…

bday9.JPG
A couple of Korean cuties, Joon and Se Hwa.

bday10.JPG
Holding court with Leora.

bday11.JPG
Some BBQ goodness courtesy of YJ.

bday121.JPG
Rick (L) and Grant (R). I’m going to Grant’s wedding Saturday.

bday14.JPG
Yep, I got the birthday song and blew out some candles. The tall ones represent 10 years each.

bday15.JPG
My “big sister” Corine.

bday16.JPG
Three on a couch. An interesting tidbit about Mi Young: She’s a firefighter. A pretty rare occupation for a female in Korea.

bday17.JPG
My bud Lonnie. I understand he had a lot to do with pulling the party off. Thanks man, I appreciate it.

And thanks to everyone for coming out and making the night special and also for the thoughtful gifts. It meant a lot to me. Kamsamnida!

Ketchup

Posted on by
4

I’m not talking about tomato paste either. It’s been awhile since I’ve posted, so I guess it’s time to play some catch up. Not that much has been happening mind you, but what the hell, that’s never stopped me before.

Last Friday I had some good darts at the Dolce Vita tournament. Two firsts and a second. Was feelin’ a pretty good beer high when I left, then stopped at a soju tent on the way home. A soju drunk on top of the beer was not the smartest idea I’ve had in awhile. Anyhow, got to talking with a couple of the trannies from a nearby tranny bar who were sitting there, which is always kinda interesting. I’ve seen some good looking lady boys on the street, but these “girls” would never be mistaken for anything other than men in drag. Don’t actually remember what we talked about, but I must have bought a lot of soju because I spent W60,000 which was equal to my darts winnings. Ah well, cruised on home about 0500.

I woke up Saturday a little after one, which would have been ok except I had to meet Grant, Rick and Lonnie at the Itaewon subway station at two. Grant is getting married on 1 September and the plan was to head on down to Songtan for a bachelor party. Well, I rushed around and made it, then we subwayed to Nambu bus terminal for the ride down to Songtan, arriving about 4:00.

Surprisingly, after 2 and half years in Korea this was my first trip down there. For those who don’t know, Songtan is the village right outside Osan Air Base. Which means there are lots of bars, shops, and other entertainment that caters primarily to a military clientèle. Kinda like Itaewon on speed.

So, the first thing Grant says is let’s get our hotel rooms. I said, excuse me, no one said anything to me about spending the night. Call me old fashioned but when I do an overnighter I like to carry a change of clothes and a toothbrush. Rick and Lonnie said they hadn’t decided whether they were spending the night yet, so we kinda just let it slide. So we hit the dart supply shop and stocked up some dart paraphernalia. Then we decided to eat. I was thinking a good burger would hit the spot, but the other guys wanted Thai. Just what my stomach needed after a night of soju. I got some seafood noodles at spice level 2 (out of 5) and they went down ok.

Notwithstanding my hangover we decided it was time to drink some beer and play some darts. So, we did a bit of bar crawling and there were quite a few dart bars along the way. There is a dart tourney in Songtan every Saturday night and I was up for playing, but Rick and Lonnie had other ideas. So, we put away the darts and switched to the entertainment bars. I can’t recall the names of most of them, but I do know the first one we tried wouldn’t seat us because the other guys were carrying backpacks (yeah, they brought a change of clothes). So we wound up at a place called UN Club.

Ok, it was a juicy bar. And in between buying W10,000 juice drinks, the girls would do a pole dance on stage. Sexy outfits but no exposed breasts or anything like that. Now, those girls shore were friendly and being that it was a bachelor party and all we let them entertain us for awhile (in exchange for us buying them drinks of course. The girl sitting beside me was covered in tattoos which is kinda of a turn off, but since I was not looking for love in all the wrong places it didn’t matter much. An unnamed guy (hey there is honor among thieves) and the girl he was sitting with were really getting along in an up close and personal kinda way however. After a couple of hours we were ready to move on and being as how there weren’t many other suckers, I mean customers, around they were probably sincerely sorry to see us go. Once we got outside, Grant brought up the hotel room thing again. By now Rick and Lonnie had decided to stay and the unnamed one was wanting to get to “know” the girl from UN Club, so he got a room too. I had no intention of staying and knowing I had to find my way back on my own dampened my spirits a bit.

But being the good trooper that I am, I decided to hang awhile anyway. So, we stopped at Mickey D’s for the burger I was craving then moved on to some “go go” bars. These basically featured cute (mostly) young Filipinas dancing on stage in mini-skirts. Guess I’m getting old, but it just didn’t do much for me. One young dancer (couldn’t have been more than 19) wanted to sit with me after her dance, but I sent her away to Rick instead. Just wasn’t in the mood for that kind of company.

So about midnight the guys decided they were ready for a return visit to UN Club. Which is when I said my goodbyes. I was as drunk as I wanted to be and unlike them, I still had to make it home. So, I found my way back to the bus station, and of course it was closed. So, I hailed a cab and asked if he wanted to take me to Itaewon. The cabbie agreed and we were off. Of course, after midnight taxi fares are higher but I was surprised at just how fast the meter was rolling off the Won. I checked my wallet and found W73,000, so I crossed my fingers that I would have enough for the trip. As fate would have it, when we he pulled up to my door 40 minutes later the fare came to W71,000. So, I gave him the W73,000, said kamsamnida, and headed upstairs. Yeah, I could have gotten a room for less than the cab fare, but I was glad to be home.

And on Sunday I rested (hey, it worked for the Lord). Watched a good movie called “The Departed”.

Monday was dart league. We played one of the weaker teams in our division, T.A.P. from 3 Alley Pub. We took them down 14-5, which is even more impressive than it sounds because our best player Cuatro was not available due to the military exercise. I went 6-0 with a few marks which will hopefully move me up from my embarrassing 14th place ranking.

I also found out Monday that my star employee Corine has accepted a job in Washington, DC. She is leaving at the worst possible time, but I can’t fault her as it is a big promotion. So, I am happy for her but pretty bummed to be losing her. She has been like a big sister to me and I am going to really miss her friendship as well as her stellar job performance. Anyway, I’ll say more about her later, I am really not wanting to think about it much now. She is here until 15 October, but I won’t be able to get a replacement on board before she leaves. My only other US employee (the one who had twins) is leaving next Friday. So, I’m pretty much fucked work wise, but that’s life.

Tuesday was my 3rd week of Korean lessons from my tutor. I have to give her credit, she does a lot of preparation for me. Makes little games so I can practice what she has taught me. Although it makes me feel like I’m in kindergarten, which is probably about the right assessment of my current skill level. Still, I am reading better and she says my pronunciation is good. At this point I am just building vocabulary, I am a long way from conversation. I’m enjoying doing the reciprocal English lessons I’m providing, although I don’t work near as hard at it as she does. She says it is helping and she seems appreciative, so I’m glad for that. I need to have her and her husband over for dinner one of these days. I’ve met him a couple of times now. He is a Korean rapper, apparently of some local fame (at least he has a weekend radio show). His stage name is “Rapatizer”, but I’ve never heard him perform. He dresses kinda urban and has a big afro which is a little peculiar looking on a Korean guy. Tells me he is going to get some corn rows soon. Ok, then.

Last night I got asked to pinch hit for a missing player on the Dolce Vita pool league team. I haven’t even picked up a pool stick for months. So, I had low expectations going in and I managed to achieve them. Well, I won one game when my opponent scratched on the 8-ball. Still, I guess that was better than a forfeit.

And so that brings us up to the moment. Glad we had this chance to catsup.

Mr. Know-it-all

Posted on by
1

Nobody EVER accuses me of that for some reason. But for those of you who know one, try these tidbits to shut him up (or her as the case may be):

SO YOU THINK YOU KNOW EVERYTHING?

“Stewardesses” is the longest word typed with only the left hand and
“lollipop” with your right. ?

No word in the English language rhymes with month, orange, silver, or
purple.

“Dreamt” is the only English word that ends in the letters “MT”.?

Our eyes are always the same size from birth, but our nose and ears
never stop growing.

The sentence: “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog” uses every
letter of the alphabet.

The words ‘racecar,’ ‘kayak’ and ‘level’ are the same whether they are
read left to right or right to left (palindromes).

There are only four words in the English language which end in “dous”:
tremendous, horrendous, stupendous, and hazardous.

There are two words in the English language that have all five vowels in
order: “abstemious” and “facetious”

TYPEWRITER is the longest word that can be made using the letters only
on one row of the keyboard.

A cat has 32 muscles in each ear.

A goldfish has a memory span of three seconds.?

A “jiffy” is an actual unit of time for 1/100th of a second.

A shark is the only fish that can blink with both eyes.

A snail can sleep for three years.

Almonds are a member of the peach family.

An ostrich’s eye is bigger than its brain.

Babies are born without kneecaps They don’t appear until the child
reaches 2 to 6 years of age.

February 1865 is the only month in recorded history not to have a full
moon.

In the last 4,000 years, no new animals have been domesticated.

If the population of China walked past you, 8 abreast, the line would
never end because of the rate of reproduction.

Leonardo Da Vinci invented the scissors.

Peanuts are one of the ingredients of dynamite!

Rubber bands last longer when refrigerated.

The average person’s left hand does 56% of the typing.

The cruise liner, QE2, moves only six inches for each gallon of diesel
that it burns.

The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube and
a chocolate bar melted in his pocket.

The winter of 1932 was so cold that Niagara Falls froze completely
solid.

There are more chickens than people in the world.

Winston Churchill was born in a ladies’ room during a dance.

Women blink nearly twice as much as men.

Now you know everything!??

A blessed spanking

Posted on by
Reply

Well, more accurately an ass kicking. The Blessed Bulls from Bless U Pub took us down last night 12-7. My game was definitely off and I was lucky to escape with 2 legs won (losing 4). Ah well, nothing to do but keep plugging away.

Congrats to Craig and the boys on a well played match.

Everyone is human

Posted on by
1

And it is human to error.

And as a boss once told me “you are the most human guy I’ve met.”

Anyway, just for the record I do know the difference between “through” and “threw”. I have no idea why I wrote that “Mario through a 7-mark…”

I’ve corrected the offending post, I just hope I caught it before Kevin at Hairy Chasms saw it. Bad grammar drives him wild sometimes. Forgive my punctuation and spelling because I know I’m sloppy, but I just don’t want to appear stupider than I really am.

Thank you for your indulgence.

Dog days redux

Posted on by
1

UPDATE: In the comments Nomad points out this excellent post from the Party Pooper which provides a very in depth discussion on the “virtues” of a dog meat diet. He even has pictures which may be more than most dog lovers can stomach (heh, a double entendre and pun at once). Here’s a PETA add I lifted from PP. As he notes, this may have not been the most effective anti-meat ad here in Korea.

dog_meat.jpg

The Nomad has an interesting post today concerning the alleged nutritional benefits of man’s best friend. Apparently the Western mind and modern science is incapable of comprehending these “facts”. Well, I do admit that I can’t grasp the concept of drinking dog penis wine even if it were proven to be a magic elixir of youth. I will continue to cure what ails me with kimchee, thank you very much.

And another one gone

Posted on by
2

It’s the time of the season again. Soldiers rotating out after completing their tour of duty in Korea. A good thing for them of course, but it also means saying goodbye to friends.

This time we bid farewell to Mario. A great guy who always wears a big shit eatin’ grin on his face and is quick to laugh and offer words of encouragement. He joined our dart team last year and really contributed to our successful season. Just an all around great guy who kept us loose and always found a way to keep it fun. He is missed already.

Anyway, we did his going away gig at Dolce Vita Thursday night. Lots of food and beer and a dart tournament called “Last Chance to Beat Mario”. I wound up playing against Mario and his partner. I admit to being somewhat conflicted because while it would be nice for Mario to take first in the tourney held in his honor, I only play darts one way–to win. So, we took the first leg in cricket, and they came back to take the ’01 leg. We jumped out to an early lead in the third cricket leg, but then Mario threw a 7-mark on 15s for points. Damn dude. We got beat fair and square and Mario wound up taking the championship match. And I got W5000 for 3rd. Perfect ending!

Mario’s next duty station is in Hawaii so don’t feel too sorry for him. Here’s some pictures from Thursday night:

mario1.jpg

Mario in action. Should have blinded him BEFORE that 7-mark!

mario2.jpg

Mario and Se Hwa.

mario3.jpg

Food, beer, and darts. Does it get any better than this?

mario4.jpg

Mario’s friend and teammate Lonnie.

mario5.jpg

Jun from Bless U Pub.

mario6.jpg

Me and my partner Mac. We gave Mario a good game, but in the end he was just too good for us.

mario7.jpg

Petro, the dart league president and a Korean guy I’ve never seen before.

mario8.jpg

Mario holding court. I think these are some of his Hash friends.

mario9.jpg

Jim, Dolce owner, teammate, and host of the event. Dolce kicked in W100,000 to sweeten the tourney pot.

mario10.jpg

Mario modeling our new dart league Jersey. Pretty cool, huh? Lonnie did the graphic design.

mario11.jpg

Bill and Joon. Got an invite to their wedding in October.

mario12.jpg

Mario with his share of the winnings from the tourney victory. Good luck spending that Won in Hawaii dude!

So, that’s the report on Mario’s big night. Dolce is going to be a lot quieter without you and here’s hoping our paths cross again one day…

Stranger than fiction

Posted on by
1

Nothing reminds me more about how out of touch with American culture I’ve become than when I look at the movies being sold by the street vendors in Itaewon. I swear, I’ve never heard anything about 90% of the offerings. So, it is always a hit and miss affair when I make a purchase. Most of the time I miss. Got lucky last year when I bought “Crash” (well before the Oscar nomination). And I just watched another good one called “Stranger than Fiction”. I wanted to buy “The Simpson’s” but it was sold out, so I picked up STF only because I recognized most of the actors in the film. Will Farrell, Dustin Hoffman, and Emma Thompson were all excellent in a story that was quite different than I expected. Not really a comedy, although there were some funny moments, and maybe sappy in spots, but still very entertaining. It had a unique way of presenting the story that I won’t spoil here. Here’s a clue: I was reminded of the adventures of Gumby when he really got into a book. And I haven’t thought of Gumby for a long time. Probably longer than some of you youngsters have been alive.

Anyway, if you are looking for something to watch on the DVD, I can highly recommend this film.

Stars and Stripes Forever

Posted on by
Reply

So I woke up feeling patriotic. Sue me.

Let martial note in triumph float
And liberty extend its mighty hand
A flag appears ‘mid thunderous cheers,
The banner of the Western land.
The emblem of the brave and true
Its folds protect no tyrant crew;
The red and white and starry blue
Is freedom’s shield and hope.

Other nations may deem their flags the best
And cheer them with fervid elation
But the flag of the North and South and West
Is the flag of flags, the flag of Freedom’s nation.

Hurrah for the flag of the free!
May it wave as our standard forever,
The gem of the land and the sea,
The banner of the right.
Let despots remember the day
When our fathers with mighty endeavor
Proclaimed as they marched to the fray
That by their might and by their right
It waves forever.

Let eagle shriek from lofty peak
The never-ending watchword of our land;
Let summer breeze waft through the trees
The echo of the chorus grand.
Sing out for liberty and light,
Sing out for freedom and the right.
Sing out for Union and its might,
O patriotic sons.

Other nations may deem their flags the best
And cheer them with fervid elation,
But the flag of the North and South and West
Is the flag of flags, the flag of Freedom’s nation.

Hurrah for the flag of the free.
May it wave as our standard forever
The gem of the land and the sea,
The banner of the right.
Let despots remember the day
When our fathers with might endeavor
Proclaimed as they marched to the fray,
That by their might and by their right
It waves forever.

John Philip Sousa

Dog days in Korea

Posted on by
1

but as for me, I’m sticking with the samgaetong…

For those who might not understand the reference, some Koreans believe eating dog meat on the hottest days of summer is good for the health. I’ve actually not met anyone who admits to eating dog meat though, but I’ve seen restuarants that specialize in this delicacy and pictures of the dog meat market. Not to be culturally insensitive but I find it all pretty disgusting. Frankly, the Koreans I know are also revulsed by the practice. The alternative is samgaetong, which is a chicken soup-like concoction. Bascially a half chicken served in a boiling broth. So tender it just falls off the bone. Which is good considering how klutzy I am with chopsticks. It is actually quite tasty.

Anyway, it has been miserably hot here these past few days. Air so thick with humidity you almost have to be a fish to breathe. And we are still in the midst of monsoon season, which means daily thunderstorms. Doesn’t seem to cool things off much though, just adds more moisture to the air. Ah well, not much you can do about the weather.

Pretty good night at the Dolce dart tourney last night. Two seconds and a first.

And that’s about it from here.

“Hey Rocky, watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat…”

Posted on by
1

Sorry, wrong hat.

Oh well, just thought it was time for a quick update on my so called life. Just finished a somewhat stressful week at work. I have been temporarily promoted to the Deputy Director position while the incumbent continues his battle with cancer. No big deal really, I’ve been basically performing the duties for the past several months. Now I’ll just make a tad more money for the effort.

One of my star employees has interviewed for a job in the States. I’m pretty much f’ed if she takes it as she is heading up the transition to the new National Security Personnel System, which is a ton of work and she has been doing an outstanding job with all the details required for our November implementation. I’ve been pushing her as hard as I dare to stay, but I think she will go if the offer is made. Well, no point in worrying about it overmuch, life goes on.

I was also recently “awarded” my first medal from the Army. Yes, folks, I am the proud recipient of the Korean Civilian Service Medal. What did I do to earn this honor you ask? Why, I completed two years of service here in the land of the morning calm. Which I guess makes it kinda akin to a Special Olympics participant award, but you know I still thought it was pretty cool. I guess I’m just easily pleased these days.

Lately I find myself dreaming of the Philippines. I’ve been checking out some expat websites and it is pretty amazing how well you can live there for just a small amount of money. I’m talking about having a nice house, live in maid, and livin’ large for two grand a month. And there are some real beautiful places, whether you like the beach or the mountains. It’s a freakin’ tropical paradise. Yeah, I need to go there and check it out on the ground. The poverty that surrounds you would take some getting use to for one thing. Still, nowhere is perfect and all things being equal I think I could adapt to living like a king in my golden years. Here’s one of the houses I kinda liked:

loghome.jpg

 

This is in a new subdivision in Tagaypay, a couple of hours north of Manila. It is actually pretty expensive for the Philippines at 6 million pesos, or about $122,000 US. I’ve seen better deals out there, but I’ve always fancied the idea of living in a log house. And this house would cost three times that in the USA. Well, who knows what the future holds. You gotta take each day one at a time and not get caught up living in the future (or the past for that matter). But it is also prudent to plan ahead. Watching my boss fight his battle with cancer and seeing people my age dying unexpectedly is pretty good motivation for thinking about what is really important in life. For me, it sure as hell isn’t work. I’m thinking January 2, 2011 is when I’m going to check out from the rat race. Here’s hoping I live that long.

I finally had some coworkers, including my Director, over for a dinner party last weekend. It went pretty well I suppose, although I’m not much for being a host. Lots of pressure to have everything turn out right. My boss finally told me to relax and enjoy myself. So, I had some more beer and things did turn out ok. Afterwards we all headed over to Grand Ol’ Opry for some good old fashion country music. We got a kick out of watching the Koreans doing the line dances and Texas two-step. Most of them are damn good and certainly much better at American-style dancing than I am. And of course at midnight we all stood up and sang “Proud to be an American” and “The Star Spangled Banner” which is the tradition at the Opry. A good night all in all.

What else? Well, I have hired a Korean tutor. My self-study program had kinda hit a wall, owing mostly to my lack of motivation and my tendency to be easily distracted (i.e. I find practicing darts more pleasurable than practicing Korean). Anyway, my tutor is the sister of a friend and I’m hoping my ego (read: fear of appearing stupid) will help me get my ass in gear and actually study. Plus, I am paying for these lessons so maybe the desire to get my money’s worth will also provide some incentive. I’ve also agreed to give her one hour a week of English tutoring (for free). I’m kinda looking forward to seeing if I’m any good at that sorta thing. I’m going to the bookstore later today to find an appropriate textbook to use.

And finally, let’s talk darts. I’m off to a slow start so far this season. I’ve managed to go 8-4 through the first two weeks, but my game is definitely off. I’m not getting much in the way of marks, and every leg is a struggle. Surprisingly, my wins are coming mostly in ’01 although I still believe cricket is my best game. I’ve been working hard in practice at hitting more triples, and that paid off last night in the Dolce tourney as I won the singles and finished second in doubles. Maybe I’m breaking out of my slump, we’ll see what happens Monday night.

And there you have it. The latest and greatest from yours truly.