I started mine off right with a sweet victory at the Bull and Barrel tourney. The finish was just a few minutes past midnight, so that makes it a great start to a new year. Let’s hope it carries forward.
I split the W160,000 first place money with my partner Brandy.
This guy got the concept of “horseman” incredibly wrong.
…I just hadn’t seen him in awhile.
Last night at the Bull and Barrel I had the pleasure of encountering an old dart buddy who doesn’t get out to Itaewon much these days. It had been a few years since we last talked but I was pleasantly surprised that he was up on all my latest happenings. Well, at least the ones that were posted on this pitiful blog.
It was great seeing Fred again. And to encounter someone who actually reads LTG was a definite treat. What are the odds?
Cheers!
(To be clear, I don’t see it. But my betters on the left have decreed the ad racist, and if I don’t go along, well, that would make me…racist!)
I guess the big news is that Jee Yeun had her visa interview. For those of you who have been following along, I applied for a fiancee visa in January 2012. So, don’t let anyone tell you the wheels of big government turn slow or that bureaucracies are otherwise inefficient.
Our appointment at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul was at 0800 on what was the coldest day of the coldest winter in recent history. The night before I had meticulously placed the voluminous stack of documents in the precise order dictated by the Department of State. So I was feeling pretty confident when our number was called to approach the intake window. (I mistakenly thought the 0800 appointment was our own private time. Instead, there were 30 or so other folks waiting to be processed in turn).
Anyway, the gal at the window (appeared Korean, but had American-bureaucrat attitude) thumbs through the documents at an amazing rate of speed and starts throwing all the ones requiring signatures back at us with a blunt “sign this”. Now, my bad but when I see an indication that you are swearing to the truth of the document you are signing, it has normally been required that you sign in front of someone, like you know, after you’ve raised your right hand and all that. Anyway, no big deal, we signed and shoved them back.
Meanwhile, Ms. Friendly (not her real name) had found a problem with Jee Yeun’s police record. The problem as best as I could ascertain was that she didn’t have one. Our duly certified statement from the Korean National Police indicated that Jee Yeun had never been arrested or otherwise ran afoul of the law. The unfriendly Ms. Friendly said that wasn’t good enough. As assault is also the punishable crime you can also find assault charge attorneys in Mesa as they can help you legally. The document also had to say that the crimes she hadn’t committed had never been expunged from her non-existent criminal record. It took me awhile to get my mind around that one, but Ms. Friendly had tabbed the offending document in yellow and thrown it back at us, so that was that.
Next came the fingerprint scanning which went well seeing as how Jee Yeun had all ten of those in the proper places and order. Then she was given a two page document (written in Korean) to read. I asked what it was and she said that I have to be nice to her or she can call 911. I said, quit kidding around, what does it say? Turns out, that is what it said. I can’t beat her, abuse her, fail to feed her or get her medical attention, and that I have to make her feel loved. Or she can call the law on me. Is America a great country or what?
Finally, we were called for the long awaited interview. A blond-haired, blue-eyed, red-blooded American consular official with a surprisingly pleasant disposition had us raise our right hands and swear that everything we said in those documents we had signed earlier was true and correct. We did so swear. Then he asked a couple cursory questions regarding the circumstances of our meeting and the depth of our relationship. Apparently satisfied that we weren’t engaging in a sham marriage to defeat Uncle Sam’s notoriously strict immigration laws *cough*, he asked Jee Yeun if she had read and understood the paper she had been given. Jee Yeun said yes. He said that he wanted to be sure she knew that if I ever abused her in any way that she could call the authorities. He assured her that even as a non-citizen, she had rights. At this point he must have noticed the incredulous look on my face because he smiled and said, “don’t worry, you have rights too.” Well, ok then.
The consular guy then announced that he was going to approve the visa. But there was still the matter of Jee Yeun’s criminal record to resolve. He told us if we hustled down to the Jongno police station they could provide the double triple negative report required by embassy standards. Jee Yeun asked about the translation and he told her she could translate it herself. And so we cabbed out and back, translated and submitted the police report and we were assured Jee Yeun’s passport with visa attached would arrive within 3 to 5 business days by courier. WooHoo!
Last night I bartered and bargained with Delta Airlines for two one way tickets back to Columbia. Didn’t get the flights or the price I wanted. In fact, I pretty much got hosed. But, we now have tickets in hand and will arrive in South Carolina on the 17th of February. Or so I am led to believe.
Hilarious video I came across on You Tube. Enjoy!
Or recklessly writing. Of course, the less I write, the fewer errors I make. Having said that, I’d best stop before some inadvertent accident occurs. Like when Ann Althouse exposed her its.
In other news, I’m full of good intentions about losing some weight. So ladies, consider yourselves warned.
Come on Kevin Kim, surely you can put an end to this violence!
…you become one.
Don’t hate me because I’m beautiful!
…that I enjoyed this video so much.
Why? Why the hell not?
January 1 found us in New Bern, NC staying aboard the sailboat Second Chance with my friends from high school, Rod and Pat Headlee.
February carried us back in Korea and this is the view from our new apartment. Right on top of the Gireum station subway stop which is definitely a good thing.
March provided the opportunity to make a little fast cash with a second place finish in the Seoul International Dart League mid-season tournament. That’s my British partner Sam “T-Rex” Hayward on the right.
April found us on the west coast at Daechon Beach. We encountered some poor service at a local eatery so I demonstrated for a friend’s young son the appropriate way to express dissatisfaction.
May brought better food and service at Tabom, a Brazilian steak house in Itaewon.
June saw the crowning of the Ride it In dart team from Pub Dolce Vita as the SIDL “B” Division champions. L-R Head cheerleader and keeper of the stats Jee Yeun Lee, Captain Bridget Werner from Texas, a fat guy from South Carolina, Louisianan Jacob Leonard, our token Canadian Cory Clow, and Greg “The Cobra” White of Bawl-Mor, Maryland.
July took us back to the USA and saw Jee Yeun being a traditional Korean grandmother by providing instruction to granddaughter Sydney on womanly responsibilities…
August brought us to Memphis, TN, my dad’s home town. This is where we deposited his earthly cremains into the muddy Mississippi river.
September 23 saw my granddaughter Sydney celebrate her first birthday in the traditional Korean hanbok. She didn’t quite know what the fuss was all about…
October brought us back to Korea once again and we journeyed out to the East Sea to enjoy the views from Naksana, a Buddhist Temple.
November calls for a feast and we had one with my Korean in-laws…
December took us to Osaka, Japan for a couple of days and provided a visa extension for yours truly.
Th-Th-Th That’s All Folks! Happy New Year!
Canada’s Globe and Mail thinks conditions are ripe for conflict on the peninsula in the new year.
“Some Pyongyang watchers expect yet another escalation as the regime of Kim-Jong-un tries to force itself – and its need for cash and food – to the top of the international agenda. Some predict North Korea will stage a spectacular military provocation, perhaps akin to 2010’s deadly shelling of Yeonpyeong Island, to force Seoul and Washington to pay attention to its demands.
And with South Korea’s hawkish mood captured by the presidential election victory of of Park Geun-hye – whose father was a former military ruler and whose mother was assassinated by North Korean agents – there are many who believe Seoul will punch back the next time Pyongyang strikes, sending the peninsula into an unpredictable spiral.”
More at the link. I do wonder just how much President Park would like to avenge her mother’s murder. Maybe she’s itching for a little provocation. But then again, I’ve always been astounded at just how much provocation the people of the ROK have been willing to tolerate in the past, what with sinking of ships and shelling of civilians and all. Of course, it seems to me the average south Korean just doesn’t seem to give a shit about much outside their own little bubble of the good life. For example, the general lack of compassion regarding the plight of their northern brothers and sisters has also been incomprehensible to me.
We shall see what we shall see. Call me a Rascal if you must, but ask me my opinion and my opinion will be, People Got to Be Free.
…has led me to my first trip to Japan. Well, outside the confines of an airport anyway. We are in Osaka for a couple of days. It seems like a pretty nice city so far. I’m in a Japanese-sized hotel room (small but efficient) in a pretty classy looking hotel.
And it has this feature I’ve never seen in a hotel before–a built-in wedding chapel. Sure, lots of hotels have wedding halls. This is a frickin’ chapel!
Anyway, gonna doing some exploring tonight. Maybe some darts later. Tomorrow a tour of nearby Kyoto.
More to come!
…lyrically speaking.
Two dart tourneys yesterday. Ten hours later I was feeling used and abused. So, I wrote a song about it.
(With apologies to Lennon/McCartney)
You know I throw all day
To win some money to buy my drinks
And when you lose it in the final leg
Well the money, it kind of stinks
And so I get home and moan
‘Cause I’m to blame alone
You know I can’t hit an out
When I practice, everything seems to be fine
In the games, I don’t have a clue at the line, yeah, yeah, yeah
It’s been a hard darts night
And I’m really having trouble
It’s been a hard darts night
‘Cause I can’t hit the f’n double
But I’ll be back for some more
Because I’m just a darts whore
And that makes me feel alright
Imagine a place where people considered “offensive” by the powers that be are forcibly “relocated”. Not just the offenders but their families as well. And the length of time you spent in these camps was determined through successful completion of “work or study”.
No, this is not Rod Serling channeling George Orwell. It’s Amsterdam!
Now these proposed “scum villages” would be reserved for unruly neighbors, gay bashers, and those who otherwise offend the tender sensibilities of the “normal” populace. But it strikes me as a slippery slope, particularly when it has been suggested in one of the most liberal and free thinking cities on earth.
I spent a couple of weeks in The Netherlands a few years back. From what I remember, I had a great time. Especially in the coffee shops.
What the hell, as long as I’m strolling down memory lane I may as well share a story from the trip. Like many tourists of a certain age and mindset, one of the first things we did was go in search of the famous legal weed. It was bizarre to sit down and order from a menu of various blends of marijuana. It had been years since I’d smoked pot and this stuff was potent! So, it came time to walk back to our hotel and we were both pretty wasted. The only obstacle between us and our lodging was the crossing of a thoroughfare.
And what a thoroughfare it was! One lane for bicycles, one lane for cars, two trolley tracks, a car lane and a bike lane on the other side. So I said “let’s wait for that pedestrian light to go green”. And wait we did. After about five minutes the wife said “you know, I don’t think that’s a pedestrian light”. And she was right! In the meantime, a rather large group of people had followed our lead and were just standing there with us waiting to cross. We thought that was funny as hell.
Well, we eventually made it across the road but after the trauma of that event we vowed to confine our smoking to the safety of our hotel room. So, during the day we go out and see the sights (it’s a lovely city!), and at night we’d get high and watch TV. Now, almost all the shows were in Dutch with English subtitles. But one night after catching a good buzz we happened upon a BBC sitcom called Coupling (you can see the whole series for free on YouTube. It’s hilarious, even when you’re not stoned!). So, this show was in English with Dutch subtitles. After watching about 30 minutes, the wife turns to me and says in all seriousness “you know, I think I’m beginning to understand Dutch!” I laughed my ass off over that.
Ah well, you should have been there.
Although to be honest I doubt you’d find a place like this anywhere else in the world. The concept is shitty and the place is a dump. But if you are flush with cash and want to throw it down the toilet, take it from John, you won’t find a crappier place to do it. Yeah, my puns stink. Like I give a shit.
More photos like this at the link. Korea rocks!
Whatever you do, don’t let her go hungry!
