I read the news today

Oh boy.

But here’s a day in the life for you anyway:

They took my neighbor away in an ambulance this morning.  I hope things work out for him, but I’ll not be surprised if he isn’t here when I return.

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So, through some mystery of physics a goodly portion of my clothing seems to have shrunk while hanging in my closet over the years.  Nothing to be done about it, so I loaded them up in the automobile and gave them a ride over to the Goodwill store.  At the bottom of that pile is a 47″ flat screen TV.  I brought it home all the way from Korea and then I learned just how unforgiving electricity can be.  You can read all about that unfortunate incident here.  Also donated were a set of home theater speakers, a dog carrier for my parent’s now deceased dog, and a couple of used up designer purses.

After leaving those treasures behind (thanks for the memories!), it was on to downtown Columbia to visit the Registrar of Voters.  There was a surprisingly large crowd of folks there to register and/or cast an absentee ballot.  After suffering the line and completing the appropriate paperwork I exercised my right of suffrage.

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Of course, voting is a private matter and I work hard to maintain a neutral political stance here at LTG.  Alright, maybe I don’t work that hard at it.  Suffice to say, I hold the view that we are Taxed Enough Already and voted accordingly.

Next stop was my credit union where I withdrew some cash money that I will soon convert to Korean won in order to pay for life’s necessities these next three months.  Well, I’m going to buy beer and Jee Yeun is going to pay her taxes.  And we’ll be eating out a lot at our favorite Korean restaurants I suppose.

I also needed to get a document notarized, a service my credit union has ably performed for me on numerous occasions.  To my chagrin, the notary advised that they cannot notarize “legal documents”.  I pointed out that this was the same type document I’d had notarized before, so she went to get a manager.  The manager came up front and said “I’m sorry” which I interpreted to mean go fuck yourself.  So, I left an unhappy camper.

In a tragedy of epic proportions, Jee Yeun ran out of kimchi last night.  I was quite certain that she would be suffering severe withdrawal symptoms prior to our Friday arrival in Korea and I can’t stand to see the poor girl suffer.  So it was off to the Korean market for a small batch of that pickled delight to tide her over.  That put a big smile on her face, believe me.

Next on my itinerary was the Bank of America to make a deposit.  I had Jee Yeun stand in a longish teller line while I hunted down a bank official to see if they might be willing to notarize a legal document.  To my relief they had no qualms about doing so and soon enough the task was completed.  Assa!

The final stop on my quest was the Kroger supermarket for some necessary supplies to sustain me in the Land of the Morning Calm.

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Just the bare necessities, mind you.

And now you know how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall.  Or not.

I guess I’ll call it sickness gone

It’s hard to say to say the meaning of this song

An ambulance can only go so fast

It’s easy to get buried in the past

When you try to make the good thing last.

–Neil Young

Too much of nothing…

Too much of nothing
Can make a man ill at ease
One man’s temper might rise
While another man’s temper might freeze
In the day of confession
We cannot mock a soul
Oh, when there’s too much of nothing
No one has control.

–Bob Dylan

Winding down my last couple of days in the USA until next year.  I’m looking forward to being back in Korea for awhile, although truth be told I guess I’m also feeling ambivalent.  Nothing I can put my finger, just in general I guess.  Ah, but this too shall pass.

In other news I’ve decided posting on Facebook is a waste of time and energy.  So, I’m going to stop wasting time and energy posting there.   Lord knows, there’s plenty of other things to waste my time doing.  Like writing worthless shit like this on my blog.

I continue to work on my dart game and hopefully I’ll continue to improve.  I’ve got the added motivation of joining my Korea team mid-season which is going to force a reduction in playing time for the current players.  Shooting well will go a long way to silence any dissension my presence may arouse, but it is somewhat pressuring.  We shall see.

I suppose that’s enough nothing for one day.

Every picture tells a story

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Alright, today I introduce a new category of posts here at LTG entitled “Journey through the Past”.  As old men are wont to do, I find myself thinking frequently of the past.  And I’m often surprised at just how much I’ve forgotten about my life.  Sometimes when I get together with old friends or the kids they’ll tell stories that I would have never remembered on my own.  It seems to me losing your memories is an especially sad thing because what are we except a collection of what we have done, places we’ve been, and events we have experienced?

I have boxes of photographs, mostly stored away safely in the garage.  When I return to the states next year I have good intentions about sorting through them and uploading the ones that trigger a long-forgotten memory.  And then I’ll tell the story.  I have no illusions about these stories holding much interest to anyone who happens upon this woebegone blog of mine.  But then, I’ve been blogging for going on seven years with little of interest to say.   I’d call that a freakin’ tradition!

So, let’s get on with the first story in “Journey through the Past”, shall we?

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That’s my son Kevin at 2 years of age back in 1980.  We were living in the beautiful mile high city of Prescott, Arizona.  I was carrying mail for the Postal Service and was president of the local branch of the National Association of Letter Carriers.  I was big time into softball in those days, and founded the Mile-Hi Softball Club, the purpose of which was to drink beer and play ball, pretty much in that order.
But enough about me (ahem).  We had purchased our first home at 202 San Carlos Road and life seemed like it could go on that way forever.  Turns out it didn’t of course.  Things happen, but just as importantly, things don’t.  And it was one of those things that didn’t happen that I remembered when I saw that picture of Kevin.

As you can see by the Google Earth map above, our street was a narrow dirt road.  About 1/8 mile up from Gurley Street, one of the main thoroughfares in Prescott.  You can kinda sorta tell that Gurley has a curve on both sides from where San Carlos enters.  This made entering Gurley pretty treacherous as you couldn’t see oncoming traffic until it was on top of you.

One day little Kevin got it in his head to go visit the house where we used to live.  On the other side of Gurley Street.  The Deputy Sheriff who found Kevin standing in the middle of the road with traffic swerving to miss him said it was a miracle he hadn’t been hit.  I’m not really a man of faith, so as much as I’d like to believe in guardian angels and Providence and such, I’m thinking it was just pure blind luck that Kevin lived to be the fine young man and father that he is today.

Had luck (or whatever it was) not been with us that day, everything in my life would be different, and not in a good way.  Being a parent is without a doubt my greatest accomplishment, but oh how it makes you vulnerable to the whims of fate!

And that’s the story I remembered today.

The best birthday ever

But I suppose you could say that about any first birthday.

Sydney Renee had a nice little shindig today which she undoubtedly will not remember.  Unless one day she reads my blog.

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It seems like every social event brings calls for some of Jee Yeun’s Korean food.  Accordingly, she cooked up a big batch of galbi on the grill.

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Me and the birthday girl.

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And the guests of a certain age enjoyed this bouncy castle.

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Assa!

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Dressing formally in the traditional hanbok.

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And as if by magic an ice cream truck arrived.  They must have child seeking sensors in those things.

Anyway, it was a good time on a special day…

All Along the Watchtower

Great Bob Dylan song, but I’ve always preferred the Jimi Hendrix cover.

I mention this because I’ve just completed my journey through 76 episodes of Battlestar Galatica.  And that tune provides a thread in the story.

BSG was one of those shows that began and ended while I was living full-time in Korea.  I wasn’t really into the (Ben Cartwright) version of the show and probably wouldn’t have watched this one either except for two things:  People whose opinion I respect spoke favorably of it and Netflix made it pretty damn easy to do (I have the proverbial time on my hands these days anyway). What can I say of my viewing experience?  I found the concept of the series intriguing, the story lines alternately engaging, irritating, frustrating, and sometimes confusing, but in the end I’d rate the overall series as being mostly enjoyable.

Now you can see why I don’t write reviews for a living.  Television I suppose contributes to the vast homogenization of our society, and this trying to include something pleasing for everyone tends to result in displeasing me.  You know, I could have done without all the allusions to current political events and the unfairness of contemporary American society.  I mean, if I can’t escape that crap in a deep outer space fantasy, I might as well head back to Korea.  Which I’m fixing to do.

Suffice to say, I’d have probably cut a third of the episodes and enjoyed it all the more.  Otherwise, the series kept me mostly entertained and I guess that was a purpose fulfilled.  Now, the Big Hominid has written up a series of ongoing reviews and considerations which are quite outstanding in their insights and perspectives, especially regarding the theological aspects of the show.

There must some kind of way out here…

Makin’ Aiken

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These past several days I’ve gotten off my lazy ass and worked at practicing my dart game.  The picture above represents the highly coveted and rarely thrown 6 bulls (aka “three in the red”, “triple double”, and “lucky bastard”) which I accomplished yesterday.  Of course, I threw it in practice which is pretty much meaningless.  But Jee Yeun was excited enough about it to snap a photo, so there it is.

I can definitively report that the old saw “practice makes perfect” is pretty much pure bullshit.  However, I’ve seen some evidence that practice does in fact help you improve.  I’ve found that my inconsistency is somewhat less consistent, which is to say that I totally suck less often than usual lately.  Obviously, I’m pretty darn happy about that.  I’m still throwing bricks (three darts, no hits) more than I’d like, but the triples seem to be coming more than they used to, and as any darter will tell you, a few triples can mask some otherwise terrible throws.

So, Wednesday night was the finale of the Puddlin’ Duck league here in Columbia and we played it out as ten man (well, nine men, one woman) singles event.   I had the good fortune to prevail in spite of myself and that victory gave me enough points to be crowned league champion (although there is technically no crown awarded).  I unseated my nemesis James Mabie, but to be fair he wasn’t there to defend his ranking these past few weeks.

Feeling inspired and full of confidence (not to mention bored with sitting around the house) we made the drive out to lovely Aiken, SC to partake in the blind draw tournament at the VFW post.   I’ve been meaning to get out there and give it a try for several months, but one thing leading to another and all (a nice way of avoiding the word “lazy” don’t you think?) I hadn’t had the opportunity.  I’m so damn spoiled by public transportation in Seoul that I just can’t seem to wrap my mind around the idea of driving over an hour to get to a darts match.   But the reality is that Columbia is pretty much a darts wasteland, so it’s drive or lay on my amazingly comfortable couch perusing the thousands of programs available through the miracle of Netflix and satellite TV.

There’s lots to like about the VFW venue.  10 boards, cheap beer, very friendly people, indoor smoking, some excellent players, and almost everyone seemed to be having a good time.  I’m always somewhat uncomfortable my first time in a new dart bar.  I don’t know anyone, no one knows me, and I feel pressured (totally self-imposed) to throw well so I don’t come off as a total dweeb.  Consequently, I usually come off as a total dweeb.  I remember my first night at the Puddlin’ Duck hearing Jee Yeun telling people “really, he’s usually a lot better than this!”.  Sweet girl, always has my back.

But last night, folks were coming up and introducing themselves and telling me how glad they were that I’d made the trip out.  Just good old fashioned Southern Hospitality.  I also had the good fortune to draw a solid partner and we seemed to find away to pick each other up when the need arose (which means, when I had a bad throw, he didn’t and vice-versa).  We fought our way through the winners bracket, had some real battles against players we probably wouldn’t normally beat but did, and came away with first place money.  When I hit the double 9 out for the win in the finals, I couldn’t help but dance a little jig.  Gangnam-style, of course.

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As you can see my partner David was ecstatic about our victory.

It was after one in the morning when we got out of there.  My Garmin took me through 20 miles of dark narrow highways before finally leading me back to the Interstate.  Between Aiken and Columbia, I passed one car with a what I assume was a drunk driver (he was driving in the left lane under the speed limit with his bright lights on) and was passed by one.  Ah, the open highway!  Oh yeah, my odometer hit 55555 during the drive home.  That passes for excitement on the road at 2 a.m., at least for me.

And so ends my tale of dart prowess, long drives, and a pretty damn fine Friday night.