LIFE magazine provides first hand accounts of the action.  This looks like it could get ugly!

Here are some more pretty cool photographs of life in Korea circa 1950.  Good stuff.

Jee Yeun spends hours watching Korean dramas on Netflix and I’m always asking “is that guy gay?”.  And Jee Yeun replies “no, he’s just wearing make-up”.  I of course respond if he’s not gay then why is he wearing makeup?  Well, here’s the answer.

Uh oh.

One week left to go in this segment of my Korean life.  It’s been a nice stay.  Reconnected with some good friends, ate lots of good Korean food, had a great time playing darts, and drank plenty of OB beer.

Still on tap is a big dart tourney on Saturday, the dart league championship on Monday, and I reckon we’ll slip in a few more grilled meat meals between now and Incheon.

One of my accomplishments, if you can call it that, has been to finally accept and embrace this life of unemployment.  It’s been 18 months since retirement and I’ve struggled to find meaning and purpose in my life.  I still haven’t found any, but I’m embracing the freedom of workin’ at nothing all day.

I also wanted to get my dart game back and I’ve pretty much done that.  I wound up ranked 5th in “B” division, which I suppose is just about right given my general inconsistency.  I’ve hit some good marks, including a couple ton-80s, and won 2 of every 3 legs I threw, so yeah, I’m satisfied.

It’s always sad to leave this country I’ve come to love, but I’m also looking forward to a taste of my American life, which includes my kids and grandchildren.   Not to mention on-demand television.

It’s interesting to live part time in two countries.  It’s also easy to feel like you are always in between two lives, never quite being a part of either.  I’m working on that though.

…but they are tasty!

Dined at the Tabom Brazil, a Brazilian steak house in Itaewon the other day.  It’s like a South American barbecue, with the meat cooked on skewers, rotisserie style.  The bring various cuts of meat, seven in all, including beef, chicken, and pork.  Hell, they even brought out some pineapple on a skewer.  It was all quite delicious.  Best thing of all, it’s all you can eat and they keep bringing it around until you beg for mercy.

It’s relatively pricey, at about W30,000 each.  But we had a nice table overlooking the street and we left stuffed and satisfied.  I’d call that good value for the money.

Not the board game, the bar game.  Yes, it was trivia night at Bless U Pub and I participated.  Now, I am by no means a trivia buff and to be perfectly honest I’m not particularly a fan of these contests.  Suffice to say, there are other things I prefer to do in a bar and I would normally not even make an appearance on Trivia Night.

But last night I encountered a last minute cancellation of a planned dinner at a Brazilian steak house in Itaewon.  So plan B lead me to Bless U.

I imagine most folks are more familiar with the in’s and out’s of trivia gaming than I am.  This Bless U version was decidedly low tech.  Basically,  you’ve got an MC reading questions and teams of players reaching agreement on an answer and writing that answer on a score sheet.  These were last night’s categories:

1. This land is your land, this land is my land
2. Tarantino
3. Before they went solo
4. The Olympics
5. Acronyms

Some of the questions were pretty difficult–for example, naming the five countries that currently have laid claim to land in Antarctica.  Others were pretty easy like in which current state is the Hopi nation located.  I enjoy Tarantino films, but I had no idea what “The Bride’s” real name in Kill Bill was, nor did I know the combination of the briefcase in Pulp Fiction.  With the combined knowledge of my teammates, we managed to do pretty well with the Olympics and Acronym categories, although we couldn’t remember what the second “A” in NAACP stood for, even though it was pretty obvious after hearing the answer.  I hate when that happens.

Anyway, I excelled in the “Before they went solo” category, knowing such tidbits as Kenny Rogers was with The First Edition and Linda Ronstadt played with the Stone Poneys.  The MC was very surprised we knew those answers and one of my teammates, bless her heart, shouted out “that’s why we have an old guy on our team!”.  Ah well.

I also knew that Rod Stewart and Ron Wood had played together in the Jeff Beck Group.  The MC insisted the correct answer was Faces.  Which is just as correct as the answer we gave.  After the contest was done, we looked it up on the internet and showed that Jeff Beck was also a correct answer.  To his credit, the MC gave us the points.

So, when it was all said and done we were good enough for second place.  Our prize was two free pitchers of beer,  Of course, I was pretty much beered out by then and needed to catch the subway home, but it was nice to do well regardless.  We gave one of the pitchers to a non-winning team for their creative answer on what the M-G-M acronym stood for.  They said “lions and tigers and bears”, which was pretty funny when you think about it.  Our maybe it was just funny to us.

Anyway, I wound up having a good time and as a bonus got some material for this blog post.  I’d call that a win-win situation.

Peace out.

Well, when I’m fending for myself a nice bowl of breakfast cereal is always quick and easy.  And if Flion the Lion gives them a paw thumbs up, it must be good, right?  Of course Post is a trusted name in the cereal field and if Tony the Tiger can shill for rival Kellogg’s, then I have no problem with Flion the Lion.

But what exactly is it that I just ate?  Ah, the side panel has a handy English translation:

But of course, Corn Flight!  I should have guessed it.  Except I’ve never enjoyed Corn Flight before.  You might say it carried me to new heights.  I’m sure this flavor is bound to really take off!  Why don’t the airlines serve this on those long trips across the Pacific?  But enough of these corny puns, I’ve flown high enough already.

In other news, you gotta love the naming conventions here in Korea.  Take the convenience stores you find in the railway stations:

Why no one ever thought to name a store “StoryWay” before is beyond me. Although you won’t find any books in the Story store, they do have magazines.  But once you come up with the perfect name for your store, you really need a catchy motto so no one is confused about what you have to offer.  “Smile, Smart, Speed” certainly brings three totally unrelated “s” words together nicely, don’t you think?

English can be a dangerous thing I suppose.

Finally, if you are like me you’ve been wondering whatever happened to those Blue Man dudes.  Well, I found one of them alive and well up Uijongbu way.  Er, not so much alive I guess, but immortalized anyway.

And there you have it ladies and gentlemen.  Is there any reason not to love this country?

I can’t remember the last time I bowled.  Well, actually I bowled Saturday night.  But before that I mean.  I played league in Prescott, Arizona in the early 80s, and I don’t recall visiting the lanes since.  Bowling in Korea is like bowling anywhere else I suppose, but the girls are cuter.

As is the tradition in bowling, prior to the game players spend some time searching for their balls.

Jee Yeun showing the form that garnered her 3 strikes.

When you’re old and fat you can’t help but look ridiculous most of the time.  That is especially true when rolling a bowling ball.

Jiwon and Sohee share a tense moment during the game.

When it was all said and done, we were finished.  Ahem.  A fine looking group to be sure but I don’t expect you’ll be seeing any of us on the pro tour anytime soon.  Still, a good time was shared and I suppose that’s the point.  Thanks to Koichi and Jiwon for having us out for a night on the town.

When it comes to apples it is tough to beat a nice crisp, juicy, and sweet Korean apple.  We eat them by box.  Literally.  Today our second shipment arrived.  Forty individually wrapped apples ready to eat.  At W50,000 they are a bit pricey, but what here isn’t?

Yes sir, no matter how you slice them, they are tasty indeed.

They are even better with a nice slice of American cheese on top.  But then, what isn’t?

Got an email from a friend back home worried that I might be consumed in fire when the crazies up north reduce Seoul to ashes.  Ho hum.  It’s all so ridiculous and unsurprising.  I told him no one here takes DPRK rhetoric very seriously and it was tantamount to a spoiled child throwing a tantrum to get what he wants.  Sadly, it’s been a rather effective negotiating ploy as the ROK usually acquiesces with additional food, fertilizer and other aid.

I guess the only thing really interesting about this round of threats is they’ve moved on from “the sea of fire” imagery to the more creative special action that will “will reduce all the rat-like groups and the bases for provocations to ashes in three or four minutes, (or) in much shorter time, by unprecedented peculiar means and methods of our own style”.

Good luck with that.  In the meantime, here in the world of reality we will continue to mock the ineptitude of your government while feeling sorry for the poor people who had the misfortune to be born north of the 38th parallel.

Just in case they really, really mean it this time, I’m set to go out listening to Johnny Cash.

The view from the back door.

Had a nice weekend at Daechon Beach, although the drive down was quite the fiasco.  Apparently a large percentage of the Korean population decided to venture out on the highway with us.  Took a different route home and that proved to be a big improvement.

And really that’s about all that has been happening.  But stay tuned, you never when the next big event may strike.

Easter Sunday we went to the movies with Lonnie and Jaime to see The Hunger Games.  Everyone else thought it was great, I found it entertaining but not spectacular.  I hadn’t read the books but had heard some of the criticism that it was derivative of other works.  I’m not sure why that matters or how it differs from most movies which draw inspiration from numerous sources.  I won’t engage in spoilers, but from my perspective this future world is what we can expect when we become pawns of the government, an Obamatopia if you will.  I also noted that “the 1%” living in Capital City were clearly liberals because they dress just like many of the folks I’ve seen in San Francisco. Anyway, the future portrayed was like North Korea on steroids.  Enough said.

This is the first time I’d been to a Korean movie theater in several years.  The best thing about it compared to the USA is that it is relatively cheap.  I scored a large popcorn and large Coke Zero for W7,000, less than half what I would have paid back home.  I also like that you get assigned seating when you purchase your ticket.  I really should go more often.

We saw the movie in Myeong-dong and the theater was up on the eighth floor.  As we were coming down the kaleidoscope of escalators a voice called out “Jee Yeunah”!  It was our old friends Bill and June Rago from Nowon out for an afternoon of shopping.  Apparently, I stand out in a crowd of Koreans for some reason.  We had a brief visit and made plans for lunch on Wednesday.  In a city of 13 million it was quite a coincidence to encounter some folks I actually know that way.

Later on we walked around the shopping district looking for a place to eat.  As much as I enjoy Korean food, we all agreed something different was in order.  We settled on a place called “Pane Pasta” which none of us had previously tried.  And it was good.  The weird thing was after we got home we saw on Facebook that Jee Yeun’s daughter and friends were in Myeong-dong and they were trying a new restaurant–Pane Pasta.  What are the odds of that?

Last night was darts night and we took on the boys from Dillinger’s Bar.  I contributed an 8-1 showing in a 20-5 victory.  Our team is in first place and this win will go a long way to keeping us there.

We took the bus home and on the 40 minute ride I counted 7 Paris Banquettes and 1 McDonalds.

It’s raining today and that’s perfect nap weather.  I just woke up from mine.  And that brings you up to the minute on my fascinating life in Korea.

I had a good Friday (ahem) but yesterday was really special.

It started with the mid-season dart tourney at Dillinger’s Bar in Itaewon.  I had the good fortune to draw Sam Heyward as my partner and to also throw a tad better than I usually do.  We had the misfortune to face Paul Winterburn and his partner who were pretty much unstoppable.  They knocked us out of the winner’s bracket but we fought our way back to face them in the finals.  Alas, we came up short and had to “settle” for second place money (W180,000).

I did have the pleasure of throwing a ton-80 for the tourney high which was good for another W20,000.  It was just a tiny bit sweeter because it topped Paul’s ton-50.  Paul got his revenge I suppose by beating me in the high mark shootout.

But the bottom line is I had a great time throwing against some outstanding players, hanging with some friends, and of course being cheered on by my number 1 fan Jee Yeun.

And that’s not all!

After darts we (the Werner’s, the Scheepstra’s me and my sweetie) went out in search of some food to mix with the copious amount of beers previously consumed.  The tables in the galbi house we prefer were full and none of us felt like sitting on the floor (I was pretty sure I wouldn’t be able to get back up).  So, we tried a new to us back alley barbecue joint and enjoyed some galbi, samgyapsal, ukgaejang, daenjangigae and the traditional sides.  Which we washed down with chungha and more beer of course.

The dinner table conversation (of what I remember) is not fit for recitation here.  Suffice to say the Werner’s were in classic form, Lonnie was instigating, Jee Yeun was telling tales out of school, and Jaime was quietly pondering what the hell she had got herself into.  In other words, we laughed our asses off.

But wait, there’s more!

After dinner, we trekked over to the local norebang to flex our vocal chords and butcher some popular songs.  I opened with the classic Bee Gees tune “I started a joke” and scored a perfect 100.  This, for some unknown reason, sent my counterparts into fits, screaming such nonsense as the “fix was in”, “no way” and “you’ve gotta be kidding me”.  (I was drunk, but I never forget an insult!)  Suffice to say, NO ONE sings the Bee Gees quite the way I do.

Anyway, for the rest of the evening the group tried in vain to beat that first 100 (heck, even I couldn’t replicate it).  Jaime came close with a 98 on a sweet Korean song.  Bridget and I were robbed on “Knock three times” (I know, I know.  But Bridget loves Tony Orlando and Dawn).  Lonnie and Chris were certain they’d hit it with the evenings final song “Hotel Califorinia”, but alas, they too fell short.

Oh, and we drank more beers.

Then we all managed to catch taxi’s with surprising ease and an almost perfect day (damn you Paul) came to an end.

Happy Easter!

Freedom isn’t free as they say.  But here in Korea it’s loud as hell.  Yes, once again it is election season and trucks like the one above are ubiquitous throughout this fair land.  Apparently, the only thing better than a strong campaign speech is one amplified at ear splitting volume.

The other morning some woman was yelling the virtues of her candidate into a microphone downstairs from my apartment.  It seems the configuration of these buildings in this complex creates the affect of an amphitheater.    Which is to say the sound reverberated through the walls.  From 0730 until 0800.  I know, because even with my head under the pillow I could not escape her piercing screech.  All I could do was watch the clock and pray for salvation.

Of course, I don’t have voting privileges here, but I can’t imagine being awakened from slumber would make anyone more likely to vote for the offending candidate.  Then again, I suppose all the worthy hard working Koreans are already up and about their business by 7:30.  And who gives a damn about some lazy miguk who wants to sleep in?

A far less offensive campaign technique are the folks who stand about smiling and proudly displaying the number of their preferred candidate.

See, as I understand it each candidate is assigned a number and come election day, you vote the number, not the name.  Which makes sense seeing as how in any given election you are likely to have multiple Kim’s, Lee’s, and Choe’s seeking office.

So, the political parties run from the conservatives (who currently control the National Assembly) to the extreme far left who are basically in league with the Commie counterparts up North.  From what I can tell, the conservatives would be slightly left-leaning moderates by U.S. standards.

I really don’t follow politics that closely here though.  I mean, Korea is my escape from the madness of the political shipwreck that is the U.S.A.  But as best I can fathom, the liberal parties want to unseat the conservatives so they can void the recently signed Free Trade Agreement, kick the U.S. troops out of Korea, and basically capitulate to North Korea.  Or something like that.

So as you can see election time is pretty serious business here.  Election day is a national holiday, which I think is an excellent idea that we’d do well to replicate in the states.

But I will be glad when it’s all over and I can once again be awakened by the loudspeakers of the fruit and vegetable vendors.

Love the hubcaps!

Just back from a weekend excursion to Songtan with the Scheepstra’s and Werner’s.  Played in a tourney at Xenis Bar and it was two and done for me, although Chris and Lonnie did moderately better.

The women-folk shopped and I sat on a bench and people watched.  The Songtan shopping district is right outside the gates of Osan Air Force Base.  Unlike Itaewon, the majority of folks I saw were military related, with a dash of Filipino workers and a handful of Koreans mixed in.

I did order a custom made Gore-Tex jacket for a hundred bucks, even though I probably won’t have occasion to wear it until next winter.

Had some authentic Mexican food (they had a banner out front advertising genuine real-live Mexican cooks) this morning and it was quite good.

Took the subway all the way down, although I guess since we were above ground for a third of the trip it wasn’t technically a subway.  Two hours portal-to-portal.  Took the bus/subway combo coming back and made it in an hour forty-five.  The bus looked nothing like the one pictured above however.

Got home, took a nap, and now I’ve posted a long overdue update here at LTG.

And so it goes.

The classic Dolce Vita jersey.  Now retired.  Which is to say, it’s not a New Jersey.  Ahem.

So, Tuesday and Wednesday are my down time.  No darts, no subway rides.  Mostly just surf the ‘net, play Civilization and Hearts, nap, rinse and repeat.  Well, I did drag my sorry ass out to the grocery store this evening, so there’s that.

Saturday we’ll be heading down to Songtan.  A friend wants to do some shopping, and I could do for a change of scenery.  The plan at this point will be to rent a room and stay the night.  Find a new place for dinner and some new bars.  For darts, of course.

Oh, I’ve got to share this.  It’s the perfect picture of the post-racial America that Obama promised to usher in:

And that’s about all I’ve got to say about that.  For now.

Lunch in Myeong-dong with the Randolph’s.

Darts at Dolce Vita where Ride it In defeated our arch rivals the Arrows from Phillies 14-11.

Jee Yeun left in tears which is another story for another day.

Well, another weekend is just about in the books.  Y’all know the drill by now.  Darts at DV, darts at Phillies, and some Korean-style eating in between.

There may be some trouble brewing at the bar that has me more than a little disconcerted.  Even messed with my sleep last night.  I’m going to see how it plays at over the next few days before deciding what to do.

We shall see what we shall see.  Off to Dillinger’s for a dart league meeting tonight.  More to come, stay tuned!

So, I’m on my way to the Army base with Jee Yeun today to take care of a little business.  My friend Corine had graciously agreed to meet me at the Ichon gate and sign us in.   So, we are about half way there on the number 6 subway line and Jee Yeun asks “did you bring the passports?”.  Um, no I didn’t.  (To gain access two forms of ID are required, one documenting citizenship.  So, it takes a passport and a driver’s license.)  Even worse, Corine had already left the office to meet us.  It was a damn inconvenient brain fart all the way around.

We got off at Namdaemun where Jee Yeun purchased a few items and then we returned home.  And so it goes.