It was a long weekend, but a good one.  Good enough anyway.

Friday evening found me at Sin Bin Sports Pub for a darts tourney.  I don’t usually play Sin Bin for a variety of reasons.  Primarily that it starts late and if you are winning, finishes late.  I made an exception because on old dart buddy, mentor, and former Seoul International Dart League President is in town.  He’s big time into darts back in the states, even has earned a pro card.

And Friday night I beat him.  He professes to read the blog, so let me say it again.  I beat Mike “Petro” Petrocelli.  Alright, it was doubles and my partner was probably stronger than his.  But still.  Took home W30,000 for a second place finish.  Stumbled home with my winnings at 0130 feeling no pain.

Except for the pain that comes from sitting on my new Galaxy J7 phone and breaking the screen.

A broke phone to go with a broken heart. Some guys have all the luck…

So, I got up Saturday morning and set about my chores.  Popped a chicken in the crockpot but added some melted butter to the recipe.  Basting worked much better than rubbing the spices and seasonings on the bird.  At least it came out a lot more moist and juicy this time.

It was literally falling off the bone when I pulled it out of the slow cooker 8 hours later…. Tasty!

So, I had my old phone as a backup fortunately.  But rather than Namsan, I trekked into the Yongsan Electronics District to score a repair.  I was told I could get it done on the 8th floor of the I-Park mall.  After climbing the escalators all those flights I was advised that none of the booths with every type of phone and accessory imaginable did Galaxy repairs. I was told I’d have to get it done “on the street.”

Alrighty, to the street I went.  I wandered about till I reached an alley that was phone-centric.  Where I was informed in broken English that I’d have to go to the Samsung SVC center.  I asked for directions and got a series of hand gestures, “Family Mart” and “second floor.”  Amazingly enough I somehow managed to find the place.  Above a CU store, but still…

After a short wait I was sent to a technician.  He asked if I spoke Korean to which I could only respond “anio”.  So he advised me the repair would be “very expensive”.  And that it couldn’t be completed until Monday at 2:00 p.m.  I asked how expensive and he said W55,000.  Which was less expensive than I expected.

I left my phone and hoofed it back home along the Han River.  I had to hustle because I had big plans for the afternoon.  Choonae was celebrating her birthday with a cookout on the back deck of Shenanigans.  In her sweetest voice she had asked if I could bring my meat.  How could I refuse?

The birthday girl…

Steaks and brats is the meat I brought…Heh, I brought the brats I bought…

…and threw them on the grill just like I knew what I was doing…

I brought along some shrimp as an appetizer as well…

We served every thing cut up in bite size morsels. Made it easier for all concerned…

Brian (Shenanigans owner) and I toasting Choonae in honor of her XX birthday. She’s older than she looks and that’s all I’m saying…

Ain’t she sweet? She said on Facebook I’m her best male friend…gotta love the friend zone…

Some of the happy guests…

Group shot…

I left the party around 7:00 and headed over to Dolce Vita for another darts tourney hosted by Petro.  You know, the guy with the pro card I mentioned above.  He professes to read my blog so I find it only fair that I mention how I beat him. Again.  Now granted, it was doubles and my partner was arguably stronger than his.  But still.  Took home 3rd Place money.

Finished the night with my nephew Justin at the new Debut bar.  It’s an expensive place to visit when you are drunk.  Hopefully I’ve learned that lesson by now.

I woke up Sunday morning feeling a little worse for the wear.  But I needed to get my weekend Namsan hike out of the way.  As I passed through Itaewon, I notice a new restaurant has opened in the former location of a bar called Rock n Roll I used to frequent way back in my early days here…

There’s a new BBQ joint in town. We’ll have to give it a try Kevin Kim. We are a couple of big boys…

I took a new approach this time. These stairs lead up and around the Hyatt Hotel…

The view from the top…

So, I took the path up to the road, and followed the road around to wear it leads to the stairs to the top.  I had good intentions of climbing them, but I wimped up.  I was just feeling rough and not energetic.  Next week for sure!  I settled for 20,000 less difficult steps.

Made it an early night last night and woke up feeling much better today.  Did some more laundry and popped a pork roast in the crockpot.  Left the house a little after 10:00.  First stop was paying my gas bill.  Not going through having it shut off again!  Then I hoofed it to the base and picked up some shorts and t-shirts in the PX.  Nothing seems to fit me these days (in a good way).

So, I was bound and determined to figure out where I went wrong when I got lost on last Sunday’s hike.  I followed the river from the opposite side and discovered where I had made the wrong turn.  I won’t make that mistake again.  Since I still had over an hour until I could pick up my phone I just kept on walking.

It’s always nice to see someone has their ducks in a row…

I didn’t see this creature sneaking up behind me until it was too late. Luckily, one taste and he spit me back out…

Spigot or faucet? Either way, I’ve got to hand it to you…

I made it to the National Assembly building intentionally this time…

A better perspective from the bridge on the way back…

By far the farthest bridge I’ve ventured to thus far. Far and away.

The river looks about the same from all the bridges though…

Made it back to the Samsung SVC place at 2:30 and picked up my phone without any hassle.  Made it home four and a half hours after I left.  Around 31,000 steps all told. (had to add the steps from two different phones).

Lost one pound this week, but I’m motivated to reach my goal!

And tonight we have a dart league playoff match.  In fact, I should be in the shower now and getting my ass over to Shenanigans to do some warm-up work.

Hope your weekend was memorable too.

A nice wedding celebration for Mat and Sohee yesterday.  I had to laugh at this sign I saw at the wedding hall:

I’m not getting the reference. I love the Bob Dylan song “Love is just a four letter word” though…Oh wait, I guess a married couple would have four legs. Is that what there were going for? Of course, I’ve been called a tripod…

The happy couple…

A kiss for luck and they’re on their way… I’ve known Sohee for quite a few years and she’s a sweet gal. I know Mat from dart league and he’s NEVER that lucky at darts!

I had the good fortune to be seated at the Filipino table during the reception…

I do admit that I’ve become somewhat cynical at weddings these days.  During the vows I recalled similar words from my most recent soon to be ex-wife.  I muttered “promises, promises” under my breath…

Look for a post about today’s adventure later tonight.

Adios…

…for a post about my weekend?

Well, it started with no hot water on Friday.  Called my real estate agent and she was basically non-responsive.  Texted my landlord directly on Saturday and he came over.  Then I got a text from the realtor saying my gas had been cut off because I hadn’t paid the bill in three months.  What the fuck?  Every month I take everything from the mailbox and carry it to Woori bank and pay everything via wire transfer.  So, if I hadn’t paid my bill it was because I hadn’t gotten one.  Well, communication is definitely a barrier for me I admit.  My realtor said I should go to an ATM and pay my gas bill. I’m like how the fuck do I do that?  Finally she said she’d pay it and I could put the money in her account on Monday.  She also made a point of mentioning that she was on her day off on Saturday.  Bottom line, she paid the bill (W530,000 for 3 months apparently) and my gas was back on Saturday night.  Which is good, because fat men need to shower!  I put W580,000 in my realtor’s account today (the extra W50,000 for my guilt about her trouble).  But still, if the gas company isn’t mailing me a bill I guess I’ll have the same problem next month. Well, I’ll worry about that later.

Had another bad experience on Friday with a Chinese girl but that’s a story for another time.

On Saturday I did my Namsam hike.

A waterfall on Namsam…

Which was enough to to reach my weekly goal of 100,000+ steps.

Steppin’ out

After my hike, I went to Haebangchon for a dart tourney at  Phillies.  Took 3rd, and my share of the winnings was W18,000.  Also had the high out good for W30,000 towards my bar tab.  Which actually totaled exactly W30,000.  So that’s a win!

Later that day I met up with my friends Sonya and Sung Ha for dinner at Tabom Brazil.  Sung Ha is moving to Toronto later this month so it was my farewell treat.  They seemed to enjoy it.

Had a great walk on the Han River on Sunday…

Made it to the Hangang bridge, the farthest I’ve gone in that direction…

Along the way I saw:

real flowers….

…fake flowers…

A tunnel…

…of sorts…

what the hell is this? Oh, me drunk at the aforementioned dart tourney on Saturday…

Donald Turmp is towering over the political scene, even here in Korea…

…apparently..

Sunday afternoon was the end of the season tourney for the Seoul Sunday Singles League.  I didn’t place, but I was given this trophy and a bottle of Mongolian vodka for my hard work in keeping the league viable…

Kamsamnida!

It was a great tourney.  One person thought I had played favorites by cheering for a particular player.  Fact of the matter is I don’t care who wins or loses, I just appreciate a well played game.  Rather than say something to me, she called me out on Facebook which hurt my feelings some.  I apologized with a private message, but didn’t receive the dignity of a response.  Oh well.

I tried something new in the crockpot A chicken. Came out dry as sawdust. Gonna need to work on getting it right next time.

Took the day off work today.  I needed to clear my head  It was beautiful outside so I did an 2.5 hour trek around Namasn.

It’s late.  I’m tired.  And drunk.

Goodnight.

UPDATE:  The person I upset at the dart match sent me a message apologizing for the FB post.  I reiterated my sincere sorrow for having made her feel bad during the match.  She’s says we’re good, and that is good.

…in honor of my granddaughter’s 11th birthday.  You can call it Children’s Day if you want, but for me it will always be Gracyn day!

She loves horses and is a great rider, just like her mother at that age…

Like mother, like daughter…

In other news I purchased a new phone.  A sweet Galaxy 7.

Pain in the ass downloading all the apps I like again, but what the hell…

One thing it didn’t come with was a spare battery.  After checking several stores and getting the same response “you have to go to the Samsung store”, I took it upon myself to go to, well, the Samsung store.  I was told it was near exit #1 of the Sookmyung Women’s University subway station.  In due course I actually found the store, but was told the service department was closed.  Not sure if that is an every Thursday thing or just in celebration of Gracyn day.  I was told they’d be open tomorrow, so I’ll try again.

Seeing as how I was on my lunchtime walk anyway, I meandered on over to Seoul Station.

The original Seoul Station mind you…

And is my wont, I found an unidentified (for me at least) statue to photograph.

You will never be forgotten whoever the hell you are…

Making my way back towards the office where I am employed but not allowed to blog about, I found this vista featuring both old and new Seoul worthy of a photo…Was it?

Today is also Cinco de Mayo. So, here’s a photo I took in honor of that event…

On the 15th of May we’ll be holding the Seoul Sunday Singles League end of season tournament.  The trophies have arrived, here’s hoping the medals get here before the event as well.

Some damage in shipping, but I suppose it’s nothing a little super glue won’t fix…

And yes, I’m just about as handsome as ever.  Thanks for asking.

here’s looking at you kid.

That’s pretty much how I roll on my hikes…and my life now that I think about it.

And another weekend is drawing to a close.  Here’s how I spent mine.

An early night on Friday.  Not because I was trying to change my ways.  I just got drunk by nine o’clock.  I do know when to say when.  Well, I know when I’ve had too much of a good thing at least.

Saturday morning I was up by seven.  Did some laundry and made me some breakfast.

I’m getting better at bacon, I’ll grant myself that…

Then it was time to head for the mountain.  Namsan to be precise.

I had planned to start here, which has a gazillion steps leading in the direction of the Grand Hyatt. Right after I took this photo a construction worker waved me off the staircase with the entreaty “Not Safe!” Being in no position to argue I went with plan B…

…so I started my climb here. I stayed on the trails for the most part which I prefer to the roads, although the hiking is steeper and more difficult…

Another crossroads…

…I took this path as it appeared less traveled by…

…it eventually led me to this long ass flight of stairs…

…at the top was this little area in the middle of nowhere featuring a bell, some exercise equipment, and a picnic pavilion…

The Korean equivalent to an azalea bush was in full bloom…

I came across a section of the old city wall I hadn’t seen before…

My standard Saturday afternoon date…

It was a lovely day for a walk. Sure, the Yellow dust was thick but I had the trails almost entirely to myself…

By this point in the walk I was very glad I was walking down these seemingly endless stairs…

The park across from the Grand Hyatt was as beautiful as it was empty.

It was good to be communing with nature on Eartha day…

Do you recall what was revealed the day the music died?

I’m accepting applications but so far no takers…

All told I racked up 3 hours on and around the mountain.  Came home, grilled up some chicken on a stick, then took a satisfying nap.

A friend called and asked to meet up at Shenanigans.  I hadn’t planned on going out so early, but what the hell.  So I showered up and headed out.  Right before I arrived I got a text message from my friend saying she was drunk and leaving.  Ah well.

I had three San Miguel Light beers and two gin and sodas.  Feeling a little stiff from my walk I headed over to the nearby Thai massage joint.  Had a lovely lass rub oil all over my body.  She asked if I wanted to be rubbed “down there” and I told her “no thanks”.  I was just enjoying being relaxed.  When my hour was up I walked up gay hill, through tranny alley, and down hooker hill to Grand Ole Opry.  At the Opry I enjoyed some country music and three gin and sodas.  Then I made my way to the new Debut and had a couple more. Made it home safely by 11:00 or so and not so inebriated as to be floored.

Up at 7:00 again this morning.  Put a pork roast in the crock pot, boiled some eggs to take to work next week, and chopped up some celery (also for workplace snacking).  Then I did the dishes.

I couldn’t seem to induce a bowel movement this morning, but I did my weekly weigh-in anyway.  The scale said 241.7, a 2.1 pound GAIN from last week.  Discouraged but undaunted, I set about on my quest to the Han river.  My plan was to walk across the Army base and pick up the Han in Ichon-dong.  About the time I reached the Dragon Hill Lodge, my bowels kicked in so I used the facilities in the hotel.  Feeling lighter on my feet afterwards I continued my journey.

Now, when I walk I put on my earphones and listen to my YouTube play list.  Near the high school a car pulls up and the driver says you are not allowed to wear headphones while walking on base for “safety and security” reasons.  I thanked him for the information (I honestly did not know) and he told me it was good that the MPs didn’t see me.  He also revealed that he was in charge of the MPs so I was glad that I had been gracious in my response.

I put my headphones in my pocket until I excited the base at Ichon station.  I wasn’t exactly sure where the river access point was but I found it in due course.  Along the way I passed a church and standing out front was my big boss’ Korean wife.  She was surprised to see me and asked if I was a “visitor”.  I laughed and said no, just passing by. She then asked if everything was okay.  I told her it was, I was just doing my Sunday walk.  I guess exercise must seem out of character for me.

This is the furthest down the river I’ve been on foot. Although back in my bicycling days I’ve gone many miles in both directions…

As I approached the Bampo bridge, the fountains went off. Sorry I couldn’t manage a better picture.

Two and a half hours on the road.  I downloaded a new pedometer app which I like a lot better.  It said I did 16,486 steps today.  I was dead tired when I got home though. I gave the scale a chance to redeem itself and it obliged by stating my weight at 238.3.  That’s down 1.3 pounds from last week, so I’ll call that progress.  I think I’m approaching the wall—my body is adapting to the new norm of reduced carbs and routine exercise (in the form of walking).  Well, there’s not much else I can do to step it up, but we’ll see.  I need to lose another 20 pounds.

As I get lighter I like to think I’m looking younger.  So, I changed my profile picture on Facebook.

That’s me circa 1978. 23 years old and reading Lord of the Rings. Man, there is so much I’d like to tell that guy…Like invest in Microsoft…

Anyway, I’ll wrap up the weekend with my singles league dart match and the requisite aiming fluid that is so essential to high level performance in a game that requires precise hand-eye coordination.  Ha!

Tomorrow morning I’ll get up early and get a blood test done before work.  Tuesday morning I have my follow-up appointment with the cardiologist.  There will be somewhat less of me to examine this go round at least.

Cheers!

I hear some people been talking me down  Bring up my name pass it round.  They don’t mention the happy times, they do their thing, I do mine.

Walk on.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgjK2ITm_eM

I mentioned the other day that Jin Hee, one of the bar staff at the new Debut, was a familiar face to me.

I did a search in the blog archives and found one mention of her back in August 2005.  It was a longish post mostly concerning my trip back to Korea after attending a conference in New York City.  This is the pertinent part of that entry:

“On the way back home I stopped off at Bar Episode for some darts. Got my clock cleaned by Jin Hee, one of the bar girls I chat with there. So it was midnight, I had been up about 30 hours and I got home and crashed hard”.

Last night I popped back into Debut to renew acquaintances.  She’s hard to read (that hasn’t changed) but she seemed mildly impressed with the above referenced recognition. She claims to have not played darts in years and is sure she is not very good.  I know my game is much better these days, so I’d like to think I would extract my revenge.  My entreaties to meet up some time for a game (Debut does not have a dart board) drew a non-committal response.  I fully understand.  Sunday is her only day off and I expect she has better things to do than spend it in my company.

Both of our memories are pretty hazy given the passage of time.  I recalled she had a boyfriend in China and she corrected me that it was Shanghai.  She said she had waited for him to return for her for 5 years and he never did.  If she’s to be believed, that was her last boyfriend.  I told her I recalled taking her out to dinner for her birthday (December 5 she reminded me) and buying her a cake.  She had a vague recollection of the event.  I didn’t mention this, but I had a pretty serious crush on her at the time.  When she stopped in at my villa in Hannam-dong for cake I thought maybe I’d get lucky.  I didn’t.

Anyway, she eventually left Bar Episode and I moved on to other adventures.  Episode is long gone now, except in the fading memories of old farts like me.  And yet, here we were on a Saturday night over ten years later sitting at the bar sharing drinks.  I guess I was ten years older than her then (which of course I still am).  But the difference between 60 and 50 really isn’t that great.  And she seems every bit as disinterested in me as she ever did. I am definitely stuck in the “customer zone”.  She’ll be nice to me in exchange for drinks on which she earns a commission.  And I’ve learned enough over the years to know when the pursuit is pointless.  Ah, but thanks for the memories!

When I did my weekly weigh-in this morning my scale registered 243.8 (twice).  That’s the same as last week.  I was disappointed but not really surprised.  When I attended Sung-Ha’s birthday party politeness dictated that I partake in the homemade lasagna.  And of course I had a taste of cake and ice cream as well.  I’d also snuck in more than a few beers over the preceding several days.  I consoled myself with the fact that I hadn’t actually gained any weight and resolved to be more disciplined going forward.

With that in mind, I did a 2 1/2 hour walk along the Han river.  My pedometer claims 21,883 steps, but I think it probably runs high.  Still, I was tired and sweaty when I returned home. I think that’s about all I have in me as far as continuous walking goes.

So, I figured what the hell, let me re-weigh after the walk.  This time my scale says I’m at 239.6!  I didn’t believe it, so I weighed again, and it was still 239.6.  How the fuck did I lose over four pounds during the course of 3 hours or so?  Anyway, I’m going with the afternoon reading because it makes me feel better about myself.

During my ramble today I encountered a fellow Rambler:

That’s a 1950s vintage (just like me!) Ambassador if I’m not mistaken…California tags too, just like me (well my birth certificate anyway).

Always something new to see on the mean streets of Seoul…

OK, so where did I leave off?  Oh yeah, it was Saturday night and I was fixin’ to play darts…

You can see how that worked out for me–a 12-4 shellacking by a Mongolian named Bayar. I actually played pretty well, he just played weller…

The match was played at Dolce Vita which is right next door to Shenanigans.  I was feeling like a change of pace though, so I decided to take a stroll down memory lane.

I started out at the Grand Ole Opry located up on Hooker Hill.  The link takes you to a post about my first visit there way back in April 2005.  Back when I lived in Hannam-dong I’d sometimes drop in for the beer and country music on my walk home.  These days I’m very rarely up that way and it’s been even longer since I’ve enjoyed the diviest of dive bars in Itaewon.

This sort of gives you the flavor of the place…

The Opry just might be the oldest bar still operating in Itaewon. Customers from years past have left their money as a reminder of their visit. Every wall in the place is covered in them. Hell, I probably have one up there somewhere too…

I killed an hour or so in there drinking cheap gin and sodas (my low carb replacement for beer these days).  Then I walked across the street to my other old time Hooker Hill hangout, Debut bar.  I welcomed in the year 2006 there.

I may or may not have left a signed dollar bill  here, but damn it, a younger version of me still adorns the wall! (Hint: I’m the handsome one).

When I walked in the door I was surprised to see the owner Polly whom I hadn’t seen in several years (it’s a late night venue and I’m out that late even less frequently than I’m on the Hill).  Polly greeted me by name which really made me feel good.  A long time bartender So Yong was also there to welcome me.  I guess they had just ordered up some Korean food and when it was delivered they insisted I join them.  A very pleasant experience!

Polly told me that things were changing on the Hill.  Her bar would be relocating into Itaewon proper to make room for a new hotel.  I was fortunate to get to experience the Debut style one last time before they close in a week.  As an example, while sitting there enjoying my cocktail a group of young people (well, given my age everyone seems young these days) came in doing some kind of perverted scavenger hunt.  One of their items was to take a picture of someone in a lewd sexual position on Hooker Hill.  I obliged by bending one of the gals over the bar and simulating taking her from behind.  They loved it!  Anything to help out is my motto.

Thanks for the memories Polly and So Yong!

I next recalled that one of my old bartender friends from way back when at Dolce Vita was now working in a new place called “Just a bar”.  So I made my way over there for a visit and had a great time catching up with MK.  It was nice but not cheap.  If you get my meaning.

Suffice to say I was very drunk by this point and made my way home where I woke up several hours later on the bathroom floor.  Yes, I got floored again.

Woke up late in the morning on Easter but wanted to get my walk in prior to my 2:00 dart challenge against the guys from Songtan.  I popped a pork roast in the crock pot and headed out. I wanted to get a couple of hours in on the Han river, so I hoofed it over to the Hannam bridge.

Near the Blue Square I encountered this lovely lass. My request for a photo was met with stony silence. I took one anyway.

I discovered that there is no access to my side of the river from the Hannam bridge, so I had to cross the long ass thing.

Which afforded me the opportunity to take this photo. But it also added some time and distance to my walk. I was getting nervous about making it home in time to shower up and get to the darts match.

Got back a little after one dead tired, but duty called.  And we proceeded to kick some Songtan butt.  First time we’ve ever actually won a match in our irregular home and away meetups.

Don’t bother looking for me in this photo, I didn’t bother sticking around after the match. I was tired and hungry…

…and knew this unpulled pork was waiting for me. So I pulled it and had me a good helping.

Lost 2.7 pounds last week, which makes 18.4 over the course of five weeks.  I decided I’d earned myself a reward.

So I loaded up the blender with strawberries, bananas, peanut butter, a little ice cream, and milk…

And this was the tasty result…

Up early today because I have to head over to the Soonchunghwan hospital to get some blood work done.  Tomorrow I have my follow-up visit with the cardiologist.  I’m expecting good things.

Time to get on with it.