Some people say I have a dirty mouth. Fuck that shit.
I did get a dental cleaning today from my dentist. Except for a cracked filling and my gums needing a little TLC I’m doing fine. She said I could get the filling fixed soon or come back for a root canal later. Hmm, decisions, decisions…
For the record, I think she is a great dentist and a female. I recommend her highly.
As in walked to work. And walked for a full hour at lunch. Then walked home. Then I walked to the bar.
A ham and cheese omelette for breakfast. Tuna, a boiled egg, and a pickle for lunch. And a salad for dinner. I’m all in baby!
How long till I’m handsome again? Don’t answer that!
The barkeep at Shenanigans gave me this advice: “You’ve got to love yourself, no one else is going to”. I responded “ouch” and she professed that is not the way she meant it.
Still, she could be right. But I’m feeling better regardless…
And today I got a call at work and the person on the other end said “first of all, I really enjoy your blog…:”
I am always pleased to discover random readers. And also glad I rarely blog about my working life. Anyway, good to know you are out there Jerry!
And that’s about it for now. Stay with me. Things are on the upswing!
I’d toyed with the idea of turning my fascinating posts into a book someday. And now someone has stolen the obvious title.
I was here first damn it…
Salsa anyone?
Salsa was on sale today at the commissary. I bought two. And dropped them coming through the door when I got home. That’s what being broke looks like I suppose.
Time to catch y’all up on the happenings in my so called life.
This GPS unit was a steal at only $1200.00! And it even comes with a 1999 Hyundai Sonata (not pictured).
I finalized the deal on my vehicle purchase. My new/old car is currently sitting at the embassy annex on Camp Coiner (right next door to Yongsan Garrison). The guy I bought it from has been reassigned to the embassy in Afghanistan (no idea who he pissed off) and flies Monday, so there was some urgency in getting things done. I should have everything I need now except the “de-registration” form from the embassy. And the guy who handles that said I should definitely have it “next week”. I went by an insurance company Friday but given that it was a Korean holiday (Independence Day and you are welcome) I couldn’t get a policy issued. I was promised four quotes on Monday and should be able to purchase some bona fide coverage by the time I get the embassy paperwork. Then it’s just a matter of taking all my documents to the USFK vehicle registration folks at Camp Kim (across the street from Yongsan Garrison), getting a temporary vehicle tag, then going to Camp Coiner to pick up the car, take it back to Camp Kim, and have my permanent licence plate installed.
If all goes according to plan I’ll be taking a road trip to Bonumsa Temple (near Incheon) with Jee Yeun next Saturday. Jee Yeun has already asked if I’ll let her drive. In her words “can I drive?” To which I responded “can you?”. Anyway, since it’s a $1200 hooptie I reckon there’s not too much risk in finding out.
Yesterday me and my boss had a working lunch in Itaewon. She asked me what I wanted to eat and I said “how about barbecue?” Turns out she was thinking the same thing and we both had the same place in mind, a new joint called Linus’ BBQ.
And in fact, I did have a perfectly fine bowel movement this morning…
The double entendres didn’t end with the marquee.
Here’s a crappy photo of the well-worn menu…
The brisket is described as what happens “when a man from swine country diddles with cows”. I passed on “da bomb” sandwich because I was not in the mood to have “Linus’ BBQ bust a nut in my mouf”.
The boss and I had a good laugh over the decidedly un-PC menu, then ordered us up some south Alabama-style barbecue.
I selected the pulled pork platter for W15,000 and did enjoy it…
We arrived a few minutes before the 11:30 opening time and I was surprised to be greeted by one of the waitresses I know from Dillinger’s who also moonlights (sunlights?) at Linus’. It was good that we arrived early because by 11:45 the place was packed and there was a goodly sized waiting line. I asked my friend from Dillinger’s (I don’t recall her name, but she knew mine which made me feel ashamed) if it was always this busy for lunch. She told me it was and that if I wanted to come later in the evening it would be best to make a reservation. Damn, I hate that because I am not big on planning ahead.
Anyway, the boss and I had a nice lunch and chat (despite the overly loud 1960’s music). We did some work talk and I also got to learn a little more about her personal story. I actually like and respect her very much. At some point I confessed to having a blog (she thought it strange that I was taking so many pictures) but assured her I rarely post about work. She said “good, and if you mention me give me a pseudonym. Just make sure it doesn’t start with a B”. Did I mention Ms. B has a wicked sense of humor? I think we are going to get along just fine!
I am meeting up with Young Chun next week to deliver some more copies of his book. On the drive back to the office I told Ms. B (who is also Korean-American) a little about Young’s story and she seemed interested so I gave her a copy of the book to read. Ms. B had briefly mentioned some of her Korean dating experiences over lunch. And without thinking I said “I should introduce you to Young”. I reckon I should have consulted Young on that first. She didn’t say no to the idea, although she may not be available this Thursday when I meet Young. On my way upstairs to my office I thought to myself “dude, that was plain ass stupid. If they did meet up and things go south, I’ll be in direct line for the fallout”. I marched back downstairs and told her that and she said “I’m not really that much of a bitch. Usually”. Ha! Well there is something to be said for living dangerously I suppose.
I’ve been spending a goodly portion of my free time at Shenanigans where they treat me like a regular. A regular what I’m not saying. But I have earned a coveted spot on the computer cash register screen where bar tabs are maintained.
I told them I would have preferred “Handsome” to “Big”. They just laughed.
It’s been a hot summer and that has necessitated my drinking plenty of fluids.
OB will likely keep me warm this winter as well…
In celebration of ten years of blogging here at LTG, each week for the next 52 51 50 49 48 47 46 45 44 43 42 41 40 39 38 37 36 35 34 33 32 313029 28 27 26 25 2423 22 21 weeks I will delve deep into the sewer archives of past posts to bring you a tidbit of blog history. I had originally planned to call this series “The best of LTG”, but damn, there just wasn’t much “best” to be found. And mediocre is too hard to spell.)
Two years ago found me being disappointed yet again by the incompetent fucks at the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service. I wrote about it in a post called “Good news, bad news”.
I had been waiting as patiently as I am able for news of the green card (permanent residency) for Jee Yeun for which I had applied back in April. The letter I got in the mail that day wasn’t the news I was hoping for. Granted, the letter started out by saying that Jee Yeun wouldn’t have to sit for an interview. But it went on to advise that “due to workload factors not related to your case, USCIS anticipates a delay in completing your case.” A six month delay in fact. See, USCIS was working hard to process the kids of illegals first, American citizens be damned. Do I still sound pissed about that?
Ah well, now I live and work in Korea. How that will impact the green card Jee Yeun received remains to be seen. Since I’m working for Uncle Sam here I understand that Jee Yeun will still be considered a resident of the USA. But those USCIS bureaucrats are tricky bastards. Unless you are coming in from Mexico. We’ll see.
Most men and women lead lives at the worst so painful, at the best so monotonous, poor and limited that the urge to escape, the longing to transcend themselves if only for a few moments, is and has always been one of the principal appetites of the soul.”
–Aldous Huxley
A fascinating story: “A stranger e-mailed saying he planned to kill himself. What was I supposed to do?”
The guy walked across the country in his twenties in order to have his story heard. Forty plus years later he’s teaching English in Japan, blogging and still writing books no one reads.
And then the day came when he had said everything he wanted to say.
Worth the read.
A broken plane. A three hour delay. Keeping it in perspective–better to have mechanical problems on the ground than over the Pacific. Still sucks though.
Not a good condition to be in when you’re fixing to spend the next 14 hours in a metal tube. Ah well.
Long layover this morning in Atlanta, but my flight to Seoul will board in an hour or so. I’ll keep holding on.
The stuff you find on the internet these days. Some wag took quotes from Martin Luther and turned them into motivational posters. It actually worked quite well. This one was my favorite:
If Martin Luther were alive today I can almost imagine him leaving this as a comment on my blog…
Some of these are pretty nice. Been awhile since I’ve seen you write in this genre Mr. Kim. Hint, hint.
So in the latest salvo in the grammar wars, Steven Pinker is taken to task by Nathan Heller in The New Yorker. I read the whole thing and it made my head swim. Here’s a taste:
This tendency to add complexity, ambiguity, and doubt is a troubling feature of Pinker’s rules. He fights pedantry with more pedantry. He doesn’t want to concede that the phrase “very unique” makes no sense (things are either unique or not), so he mounts an odd defense. Look at two snowflakes from far away, he says, and they no longer seem unique: “The concept ‘unique’ is meaningful only after you specify which qualities are of interest to you and which degree of resolution or grain size you’re applying.” If we did all that, we wouldn’t need the word.
You can read the rest at the link above if you dare (or care). I’m just an old dog with no motivation to learn new grammar tricks. So you can count on me firmly maintaining my position in the “descriptivism” school of grammar. I love the fact that there even is such a school. Warms the cockles of my libertarian heart.
Hat Tip to Althouse.
Before…
…after
Shaving off the beard proved to be a royal pain in the ass. Took about six razors because they kept getting jammed with hair. I had tried to buy one of those old fashioned razors with the double edged blade. Found the blades but no razor to put them in. So I bought a cheap-ass set of disposables and hacked away. The ‘stache ain’t right yet, but I lost interest. Now it’s off to get a haircut…
Commenter Kevin asks if I would recommend the television series Justified and if so, why? The first part is easy: I highly recommend the show. As to the why, I really suck at writing reviews so I’ll just offer up my general impressions and the things I liked enough to keep me watching (26 episodes in 48 hours). Of course I don’t have a life, but still.
You can get a pretty good synopsis of the show’s premise at the link above. Basically, it’s the story of the exploits of a quick-on-the-draw U.S. Marshal based in rural Kentucky. Think of Matt Dillon in the 21st century. Timothy Olyphant (you probably remember him from Deadwood) is outstanding in the lead role as Raylan Givens. In the category of things I like, consistently excellent acting from almost all the featured characters is pretty high on my list.
I have a pretty low tolerance for stupid so I find it difficult to find shows on TV that hold my interest. The writing on Justified is witty and gritty. There’s plenty of action to keep you entertained, but the writers also develop complex and believable characters that you can care about. Even the bad guys. I was pleasantly surprised to find a television series set in the South that didn’t rely on the tired old stupid redneck stereotypes. Don’t get me wrong, the show is chock full of hillbillies, but lots of them are quite intelligent despite the way they talk. Just like in real life. I particularly like Boyd Crowder, Deputy Marshal Givens’ main antagonist. The “uneducated” son of a coal miner and Harlan County’s crime boss sounds stupid until you listen to what he says–who’d expect a dumb hick to be quoting Walt Whitman? I especially liked how the carpetbaggers from Detroit “misunderestimated” their adversary. Wish YouTube had some decent clips I could share of some of those interactions. Anyway, it’s just refreshing to see Southerners portrayed as other than caricatures.
Each season has it’s own story arc, which helps keep things fresh what with characters being killed off and new ones introduced. I’ve found it all consistently entertaining and I think you will to. Enjoy
Not me. I walk to the bathroom several times a day. But I couldn’t help but think of Kevin Kim when I saw this….
According to this article in Mail Online, “there is no such thing as a vaginal orgasm, a clitoral orgasm or even a G-spot Instead, the umbrella term ‘female orgasm’ should be used, the study authors argue.”
Well, I guess it was just a matter of time until the political correctness virus invaded the sanctity of our bedrooms. I’m no scientist but I have it on good authority that there are in fact three types of female orgasms. An old girlfriend told me so. Of course, I asked her to explain and here’s what told me.
First, you have the affirmative orgasm which sounds like this: oh yes! oh yes! oh yes!
And then there’s the religious orgasm: oh god! oh god! oh god!
“So, what’s the third type?” I asked her.
She laughed and said well that’s the fake orgasm–“oh John! oh John! oh John!”
I don’t miss that bitch at all.
One of my favorite Korea-centric blogs is back in business after experiencing technical difficulties these past several days. I had similar issues with the same blog host last year (see here and here). I hope GI Korea is able to find someone at blogs-about to assist with transferring his archives.
Anyway, if you link to ROKdrop, his new domain is ROKdrop.net. The .com address wasn’t working for me at least.
White line fever, a sickness born
Down deep within my soul
White line fever, the years keep flyin’ by
Like the highline poles
The wrinkles in my forehead
Show the miles I’ve put behind me
They continue to remind how fast I’m growin’ old
Guess I’ll die with this fever in my soul –Merle Haggard
Today marks the anniversary of the commencement of my first journey around the sun of which I have now completed 59 circuits. Man am I tired!
I’ve gotten older but I can’t say I’m all that much wiser. No great insights as I enter the last year of my fifties. Truth is, I’m feeling a little melancholy. It’s not just that with each passing year mortality looms ever larger, it’s more that what once were limitless possibilities and opportunities have been reduced to an uncomfortable understanding that this is what I’ve become and it is all that I will ever be. It has been said that a dreamer lives forever, but I’ll be damned if I can think of a dream that fits me now. Well, other than dreaming of my lost youth which is a fool’s game for sure.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not feeling sorry for myself. Life has bestowed upon me many blessings, including a wife who loves me against all reason. I have healthy children and grandchildren. I’m living comfortably on a generous pension (thanks Uncle Sam!). And despite living a decidedly unhealthy lifestyle I’m in generally good health. Well, the aches and pains that come with age are a constant companion these days, but I’m still climbing the stairs up to the bars on dart nights (and stumbling back down). I see folks all around me who can’t do the things I still do and enjoy, so yeah, I’ve been lucky. And if that’s all there is, by god, I’m gonna keep on doing it for as long as I can.
Perhaps what makes me feel my age the most is that I’m pretty much the oldest guy I know. Meaning almost all the people I spend time with are young enough to be my kids. Or younger. Of course, in my mind (especially after a few beers) I still think I’m thirty. I fear that when I act that way I must be perceived as the stereotypical “creepy old guy” hanging out with the young crowd. But what are you gonna do? I’ve never wanted to live a vanilla life and I’m not about to go “gentle into that dark goodnight“.
I wonder just what makes a man keep pushing on
What makes me keep on hummin’ this old highway song
I’ve been from coast to coast a hundred times before
I ain’t found one single place where I ain’t been before
White line fever, a sickness born
Down deep within my soul
White line fever, the years keep flyin’ by
Like the highline poles
Anyway, happy birthday to me. I have no idea where the road of life will take me next, but I sure as hell ain’t looking for an exit!
Jee Yeun asked me what I wanted for my birthday. I didn’t have the heart to tell her “to be 30”.
I always preferred Graham Parsons and the Flying Burrito Brothers version of the song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kU0WcW2k2tc