Last night we (the Dillinger’s Dartitis Quarantine) kicked off the new season of the Seoul International Dart League with a victory over the Gecko’s Crew.  I contributed a 6-0 record in singles, and another 6-0 performance in doubles.  I do believe that represents my best ever showing in “A” division. Granted, the Crew is not the strongest team we will face, and I didn’t have to play their top player in 9 of those wins, but still.

This morning I took my driver’s license test, missing 3 of 45 questions.  Which 3 I cannot say because they didn’t tell me.  Which strikes me as kind of odd since I’ll be ignorant of whatever I should be knowing when I take to the highways of Korea.  At least 7% ignorant that is.

Yes, I’m probably going to go ahead a purchase a vehicle.  I don’t intend to commute to work from Gireum-dong on a daily basis, but once a week to schlep home the groceries would be nice.  And maybe some weekend journeys to the mountains and the beach would be a good change of pace from drunken nights in Itaewon..

Immediately after completing my driver’s test I hoofed it over to the bus station at the Moyer Center on post.  For a mere W6,200 I purchased a ticket to Osan Air Base, waited twenty minutes for the next bus and arrived one hour and ten minutes later.  Why the trip to Osan you ask?  Well, they have a tiny little immigration office at the airport terminal there.  It’s small but has a reputation for being speedy.  I handed over my passport and paperwork at 11:30 and was back at the Osan bus station at 11:40 with an A-3 SOFA visa good for three years in hand.  I caught the 11:50 bus back to Yongsan and was sitting in my office enjoying a Double Whopper and strawberry shake shortly after 1:00. I usually  check out here if I need the best passport renewal services.

So, I achieved in 2 1/2 hours what would have taken me most of the day to accomplish at the Sejongno Immigration office. Result!

Finally, in today’s mail I received my first Leave and Earnings Statement.  The money was sweet!  And I have every intention of actually starting to earn it one day very soon. Actually, I’m beginning to get more involved and I’m making some contributions, but I can and will do more.  One disappointment was I only earned 4 hours of annual leave (vacation time).  I was pretty sure I was supposed to earn 8 hours of leave each two-week pay period, so I went onto the internets to find some evidence to support that belief.  And sure enough I was correct in my assumption.  So I shot an email over to the folks in the CPAC and got a prompt response.  A “help ticket” has been submitted and I should see my full leave earning potential showing on my pay stub in three or four weeks.  I trust it will be retroactive.

The pay should hit my bank on Thursday or Friday and I do believe I’m going to commence car shopping.  It will no doubt be a hooptie, albeit a high end hooptie ($2000. or less).

Ain’t life grand?

For those of you following the Itaewon dart scene, here’s the latest:

I managed a mirror image of the 16-0 shellacking I suffered in my previous Singles League outing, beating this week’s opponent 16-0.  Is the slump over?  Stay tuned.

In Monday night Pub League action, the Dillinger’s Dartitis Quarintine clenched second place in the Seoul International Dart League.  We beat Sin Bin 25-14 last night to earn that honor.  First place is securely held by our sister team, the Dillinger’s Dill Pickles.  They are just too damn good beat, but at least we won’t have to face them straight away when playoffs commence.

I went 6-0 in singles, and 3-3 in doubles.  I’ll take a 9-3 night anytime.

And that’s how things stand.

Still reeling from Friday’s disappointing news I ventured into Itaewon for my Seoul Sunday Singles League match against league leader Wallace.

Prior to my departure Jee Yeun asks me who will I be playing. I answer “Wallace”. She says, you are Walrus. I say yeah, and I’m playing Wallace. She responds No, you are Walrus! Then I understood. Wallace and Walrus sound exactly the same in Konglish. That conversation turned out to be the highlight of my day.

Wallace was unbeatable, taking the match 16-0.  Well, I had some chances to win a leg here and there but every time I got close I managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.  It was frustrating and frankly embarrassing.

In Monday night action I started out much better, going 5-1 in singles.  Followed up with an 0-6 performance in doubles which didn’t help my mood.

Onward and upward.

Last night found me at Friend Bar.  Or Club Friend, depending on which signage you believe.  Dark, dank, and dirty; it is my least favorite venue in Itaewon.  I only frequent the joint when our dart team is scheduled to play there. Located halfway up “Hooker Hill” getting there always makes for an interesting walk.  It’s the only street in town where the girls call me “handsome man” and beckon me to come inside.  Although they may have actually been transgenders, who can tell?

The bar does feature some interesting art work:

Top this asshole was my mantra last night as I contributed a 9-3 performance to our team’s 26-13 victory.

Did you hear about the time a Japanese, a Korean, a Canadian, and an American walked into a bar? The called themselves “Dartitis Quarantine” and proceeded to kick some Friend Bar butt.

Everyone threw exceptionally well. It was my best night for marks in a long time. Three of my twelve legs were 501, and all I managed was a ton-80–and lost the leg anyway.

So, 10-2 last week, 9-3 last night, and 14-2 in singles league on Sunday against one of the top dogs.  No idea how long this hot streak will last but I’m enjoying the hell out of the ride!

Oh yeah, it was Friday.  Well, I did my half-day of duty at K-16.  Zero customers, but loneliness is in my job description.  Apparently. I have mastered the fine art of sleeping on the paid bus ride back to Yongsan though, so there’s that.

I then hiked into Itaewon and enjoyed some beers at Shenanigans before moving next door to Dolce Vita for the Friday night darts tournament.  Didn’t have much success during the tourney, but my ticket was drawn for the trip shoot (3 darts at the triple of a randomly drawn number).  I managed to hit two triple 16s, which was good for a sweet W180,000.

Saturday night found me back at Shenanigans for a meet-up with my nephew Justin.

Justin brought along his language exchange partner Yeonwook, who was plenty friendly.

Justin has a birthday this week, so Yeonwook snuck out to Baskin-Robbins and returned with an ice cream birthday cake. Beer and ice cream, better together than you might think.

This coming weekend Justin will be joining the wife and I on a trip down to Busan, or more likely, Haeundae beach.  I reckon I’m about due for a change of scenery.

On Sunday, it was back to Itaewon yet again for some Singles League dart action.

I’ve been on a roll, but admittedly I have yet to play the top players in the league. I’ll get my comeuppance one day soon.

I do believe Monday morning was the coldest day I’ve experienced since my return to Korea.  It was a chilling walk to the subway and then to the bus station on Yongsan. By the afternoon it had warmed up considerably so I figured my afternoon hike would be more pleasant.  But right at quitting time it began to snow.

Actually, the snow was more pleasant than the biting wind had been. Plus, it is kinda pretty.

Monday night was the pub league match against our sister team from Dillinger’s bar.  They are by far the best team in Itaewon which they amply demonstrated by handing us an old fashioned ass kicking.  My 1-8 performance certainly did not help.

In other news, I’m still holding on to some fading hopes that I might substantially improve my employment situation.  Everyone professes to want me back, except the one person who doesn’t know me, who is also the person I’d be working for should I be hired.  I have reason to believe that her reluctance stems from a fear that as the former boss I might not adapt well to being a worker bee.  Although truth be told, that’s exactly what I prefer to be.  Anyway, I gave her a call on Monday and said I’d like the opportunity to sit down with her and address whatever concerns she may have about me.  She agreed to do that, but wasn’t able to say when.  I gave her my phone number and now I will await a call that may or may not come.

Today I have frittered away the hours in the depths of a CIV IV game.

And that’s about it for this iteration of my so-called life.

T

all signs point to yes.

As I noted in this post, last week I walked out on my team over what amounted to nothing more than a misunderstanding (and my being a dick about it).  After stewing on it all week I made the decision to rejoin the team in time for last night’s action at the Friends bar.  I reviewed the joint back in 2009, and let’s just say things have not improved.  In fact, it is the only venue I have seen that still allows smoking inside, a direct contravention of Korean law.  But then, the bartender’s poodle sat on the bar for most of the night which must violate some health law or another.  “Rules?  We don’t need no stinkin’ rules” would be an appropriate motto for this establishment, which not so coincidentally is located smack dab in the middle of Hooker Hill.

Anyway, I’m not complaining.  Much.  I played well enough to go 3-3 in my singles matches, and 3-0 with my doubles partner.  They are a strong all-Korean team so it was gratifying to take home a dominating 27-12 victory.  It was a fun night and everyone got along affirming that my decision to stick by my commitment to this team was the right one.

I rarely venture up “the Hill” these days.  But there was a time when I spent many hours in a tiny little bar called Debut.  I dropped by for a quick beer on my way home.  Nothing stays the same I suppose.  Not even me.

This photo of me on the Debut Wall of Shame Fame circa 2006 is still there. The person I was back then has moved on. (I’m the guy in the suit and tie if you’re wondering).

And the journey continues.  Stay tuned.

I’ve been throwing darts for going on ten years now, but I’ve never had a performance anything like this.

A 15-dart game. Of course, the pro’s can do it in 9, but I ain’t no pro.

It was especially sweet because I finished the game prior to this one with a 157 out, so that’s 6 straight throws of 100 or more.  Of course, I couldn’t keep up that kind of pace, but I threw well for the rest of the afternoon.

I needed all those good darts because my opponent was also having a good day…

I actually was not scheduled to play James at all.  I won my scheduled match 14-2 and then took pity on James who had been stood up by his opponent.  I was thinking it was a mistake for me to play a second match because I was already pretty drunk tired.  But I found the zone and wound up having my best ever.  Go figure.

Regular readers know how much I despise dart league drama.  Which makes it especially distressing to report what a little bitch I was last night.

I finished work and arrived back at Yongsan as per usual at 1600.  Grabbed me some dinner at Popeye’s on base then hoofed it into Itaewon.  Had a couple of beers at Shenanigans while I awaited the the 6:00 p.m. opening of Dolce Vita.  Got in some practice at DV and then made my way over to Dillinger’s where my team (Dartitis Quarantine) was playing the opening match of the season against Gecko’s.

I arrived at 7:10, and the match was scheduled to begin at 7:30.  Other than a couple of greetings no one said anything to me.  Our regular team Captain was out sick.  And then the match started, so I looked at the score sheet and saw I had not been scheduled for the first round of singles.  We had five players, and only four can play so someone has to sit. And that was me.  I mentioned to another player that I was surprised to not be playing and he said “you were the last one to arrive”.  And for whatever reason that set me off, especially since I’d spent the last hour warming up at DV.  I’m not the best thrower on the team, but I’m also not the worst.  So, it didn’t seem that we were putting our strongest lineup up against a tough opponent.

As I set there stewing on it, I just decided to say “fuck it” and leave.  The team didn’t really need me and I was feeling unappreciated.  So I walked out on the team.  I sent a message to the absent Captain saying I knew it was a dick move, but it didn’t seem like I was a good fit for the team.

He didn’t respond until this morning, and it was a terse “do what you gotta do.  A little more notice would have been nice so we could fill the team”.  I replied that I wouldn’t have left if the team was short a player, but with four other guys I was not needed.  He answered that my saying I was not a good fit for the team implied that I had quit for the season and that is what he had told the team.  Which I take to mean I’ve been fired.

Anyway, I was way out of line.  Upon *ahem* sober reflection this morning I recognize that my behavior was totally unacceptable.  I sent a message to my teammates apologizing and a couple have been gracious in their acceptance of said apology.  And that’s where things stand.  I’ve not decided on next steps, although if I want to play I’m sure I can find a team that would be happy to have me.  Even if I’ve become the stereotypical grumpy old man.

After my premature departure from Dillinger’s I returned to DV and worked on drowning my sorrows with frosty mugs of Cass beer.  An acquaintance named Brad came in and joined me at the bar and we spent a delightful couple of hours chatting about politics and the minds and hearts of Korean women.  Honestly speaking, I enjoyed that much better than I would have playing darts in my foul mood.

I got on the subway for the ride home and realized I didn’t have my darts.  Texted the owner of Dillinger’s who found them where I’d left them upstairs, so they are in safe keeping for now.  Although he did threaten to sell them to buy me some diapers.  Which of course is the kind of abuse I have so rightfully earned.

And so it goes.

Or should I say the Walrus’ back?

Either way, the Walrus was spotted in Itaewon for the first time in too long this weekend. As one wag put it, the photographer captured my good side in this pic.

Friday night darts at Dolce Vita featured a round robin format which I rather enjoyed.  You throw a lot more darts than in the typical double elimination tournament.  I failed to make the cut into the championship round, which I blame on my inability to properly adjust to 16 ounce Korean beers after months of drinking 12 ounce ultra light beers in the USA.  Or maybe I just threw crappy.

Saturday was the end-of-season tournament for the Seoul International Dart League.  I threw better there, but not good enough to actually win anything.

Got lots of heartfelt welcome backs which made me feel good.  Indeed, it is good to be back.