Everything went accordingly to plan. I was blissfully in my “happy place” for most of the procedure. Best news of the day, I don’t have to do another one for 3 years!
Post op
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The ‘scope that sees past uranus…
I’m in for some heavy drinking tonight. Two gallons worth to be exact. Yes, as you might have surmised, I’m doing my prep for tomorrow’s colonoscopy. The chicken broth will be my “dinner”. My instructions are to drink 8 ozs every ten minutes until I burst. No, that’s not what the solution I imbibe is gonna make me do, but that is probably more detail than you want to hear (or I care to share).
I did this last year, so I know what I’m in for. The procedure itself isn’t so bad since they drug you up real good. But the prep is a pain in the ass (heh). No coffee or diet cokes today and a bowl of soup for lunch. I go under the scope (or more aptly, the scope goes into me) at 0930, so I don’t imagine I’ll starve between now and then.
But it is a hassle and I’ll be glad when it’s over.
Hasta la vista!
Blue Frog
This will be the first in a new series here at LTG called “Dart Bars of Itaewon”. I plan to carry my camera on Monday nights and give you a flavor of league venues.
Last night we opened at Blue Frog and I’ve already reported the pitiful results. Now let’s talk about the bar.
The bar is located in “Nigerian Alley”, one block down from “Hooker Hill”. This is the entrance sign you can look for.
The bar itself is located in the basement. It is usually dark and dank. The walls are painted black which heightens the “atmosphere”. There also is sometimes a “seepage” problem which has rendered the back room uninhabitable.
Two of the three boards available for play. That’s Jin warming up for our match.
At one time Blue Frog was the premier venue for darts in Itaewon. I played my first tournament here. The Frog used to host a very well-attended tourney each Saturday night, but the owner for some reason ended that practice a couple of years ago. Coincidently or not, that coincided with the departure of Jay Woody and Tom Cassidy, fervent darters are regular denizens of Blue Frog. There are still a few regulars from the league that call Blue Frog home, but it is a mere shadow of its former self. Chris Burslie recently moved his “A” Division team from Blue Frog to the newest bar in town, Sam Ryan’s.
To be honest, it is not a great venue for darts. Not the worst by far (that would be Friends Bar IMHO), but the Frog is showing its age. And its basement location makes it uncomfortable at times, especially cold in winter. To be fair, owner Eun Suk did a pretty nice job refurbishing the back room but the aforementioned seeping sewage situation made a mess of that.
The bar itself sits only 5 and when the servers are busy it creates a lot of traffic. At times this makes the play on board 1 a little challenging.
The staff is pretty good. Eun Suk is nice and my pal Wan Jun is quick with a beer and always happy to chuck some darts when business is slow. There used to be a crew of sweet and attractive waitresses but they have pretty much all moved on to other things these days. I did notice a new waitress last night, and service is generally good.
So, in conclusion I would have to say that while Blue Frog is still a sentimental favorite, other than for league matches I only visit once or twice a month. All things considered, I rate this bar a solid C for darts.
Not a good start…
Shooters took us down 21-16, no thanks to me. I went 0-6 in singles. No excuse for that. My opponents did not outplay me, I beat myself with the most lame-ass darts you can imagine. Disgusting.
Redemption of sorts came when Dave and I teamed up in doubles and went 6-0. So, a .500 start is small consolation, but I will take. As I promised my teammates, I will not play so poorly again. That would be like lightning striking twice…
Crap.
Victory begins here
Or at least I hope so. Yes, ladies and gentlemen it is once again opening night in the Seoul International Dart League.
I begin the summer season with a new team, the Rubbies. I don’t know the origin of the name, but in one form or another the Rubbies have been an Itaewon institution for more than a decade. This season also marks the return to my bar “home” at Dolce Vita. I’m also playing with a good group of guys I know well, respect as darters and am comfortable playing with. My mates are Tom Randolph, Dave New, Dan Orrico, and Rod Rodriguez.
I’ve still got a slight case of new team and opening night jitters, but I expect I will play through it and do fine. Power of positive thinking and all that. We open against Shooters, a new team in “A” division, playing out of Blue Frog.
Like it or not, you can expect to see an account of tonight’s action here at LTG. Look for it!
No comment
Come up with your own caption for this one…
A fond farewell
Last night I hosted a going away party for Craig and Scott, good friends and dart teamates. They are leaving for Canada in a few days and will most definitely be missed.
So we ate a lot of food and drank to excess. I guess we all got a little loud as well, because around midnight a downstairs neighbor politely asked us to shut the hell up. From what I can recall, we had a good time.
The menu included galbi, shrimp, sausage and cheese, garlic bread, chips and dip, cherries, veggies, rice…
…ribeye steaks, corn-on-the-cob, watermelon, pecan pie, puchingae (Korean pizza), homemade potato salad (courtesy of Scott and Illhee) and of course, kimchee.
We drank lots of beer, soju, maechui (Korean plum wine) and some Scotch whiskey. We were all pretty wasted after that all got mixed together in our warm bellys.
I took some more pictures, but apparently had my finger over the lens or something (I can’t imagine why I did that). This one came out given that it was taken relatively early in the night…
That would Scott, Wan Jun, Craig and Alastier (it’s salmon, not pink). Also present during the evening were Jim, Seung Youb, Lonnie, Illhee and Ji Yeon.
Best wishes for success and happiness to Scott and Craig as they return to life in the Great White North.
The Korean model
Nice post by GI Korea/ROK Drop on Obama’s suggestion that developing African nations use the Korea model to achieve economic success. GI cites several examples of why the Korea model is unlikely to be replicated in Africa, and I agree the most significant is this:
Here is the most important factor, the work ethic of Koreans. Koreans worked as hard as anybody in history to build the nation they now have. Are African countries willing to sacrifice and work the long hours that Koreans did to build their country?
I have mentioned before just how impressed I have been by this aspect of Korean culture/society. I see it in my own employees and I have observed this among the general population as well. Koreans are driven to succeed and they pursue thier goals with a singlemindedness that is quite fascinating. In fact, I sometimes wonder if they overdo it at times. Korea does have one of the highest suicide rates in the world.
You can’t help but admire what the Korean people have achieved though. I attended a ceremony recently where General Sharp, the USFK Commander, spoke of the Korean War. He said some call it a stalemate, a war without victory. But he said such views are wrong. He noted that a simple comparison of life in the north with that of the south makes clear who the real victor was.
You really can’t argue with that.
Because I’m a girl
Sad love song and melodrama. What more could you ask for?
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Jackpot!
Some excitement during Friday night darts at Dolce Vita last night. There is a progressive “bull shoot” jackpot that works like this: You buy drawing tickets for chon won (a buck) and if your number is pulled you have the opportunity to take a shot at the double bull. Hit it, and you win the pot. No one has managed that feat for the past several months (I had the chance to throw at it a couple of times and failed). So, the jackpot had grown to a little more the a million and a half won ($1500). I certainly contributed my share in worthless tickets.
Well, last night Alisteir the Scot had his number drawn. Three warmup darts and then the money shot. Bullseye! Well, to be precise, DOUBLE Bullseye. Pandamonium broke out and Alisteir was of course ecstatic. Although everyone coveted the prize, we were all thrilled to see Alisteir take the money. A great guy and excellent darter, he has some recent immigration problems and hasn’t been able to work regularly. So that money is both needed and well-deserved. He recieved a prolonged ovation and left a happy man last night.
He actually took first place in the tourney as well, so it was an overall great night for him. Congrats again!
Welcome to the new and improved Dolce Vita!
I was anxious to see how the newly renovated Dolce Vita turned out, so after a nice afternoon nap I ventured out into Itaewon.
In a word: Nice.
Much lighter, airier, and open. And seperate men’s and women’s restrooms!
The redesign was a labor of love for YJ, and she really did a great job.
I hadn’t played darts for a couple of weeks, so I enticed Jim into throwing. I was rusty, but threw ok. Jim got the better of me though. Still, it was good to be at the Dolce oche (elevated now) again.
I snapped a couple of photos, but must have been a little drunk because they are a tad blurry (I thought it was my eyes!).
The four boards are together along the “back” wall now.
And these windows are a major upgrade.
The pool table occupies the space where boards #1 and #2 used to be. This arrangement keeps that darters and pool players out of each other’s way, which is good.
The new bar design.
Although the sqaure footage didn’t increase, the new setup creates a feeling of spaciousness.
The world in brick, a nice YJ touch.
So, I think the new Dolce Vita will prove to be very user friendly.
What else did I do on my first night back in Korea? Went to Don Valley for a dinner of Korean goodness.
Samgyapsal to be exact. Yum!
What a difference a day makes…
Back home in Seoul. Took a redeye flight under a Bali full moon and landed in the middle of a Korean monsoon. Welcome back to the real world I suppose.
Just a couple of final reflections on my Bali experience. Some things really stand out, probably first among them was just how inexpensive it is to experience a taste of paradise. We had a personal driver/tour guide that cost us 50,000 rupees per hour ($5 U.S.). We stayed in nice hotels that cost $60 or less, including a full breakfast. There were also many bargains to be found in the shopping arena. I’m not much of a shopper myself, but the womenfolk bought a load of sarangs as gifts ($2.50 each after hard bargaining), gold jewelry and other items at a bargain basement prices. I bought a stack of DVDs of American TV shows I had been coveting (Deadwood, The Office, South Park) at $1 each and with every purchase of 20, you get nine additional for free! For the record, I don’t think these are bootlegs, the quality is 100% and the DVD’s have the studio images on them, something I’ve never seen on a bootleg. Oh, and a carton of cigarettes could be found for $8 to $10.
Y’all have seen the pictures, so I don’t have to tell you just how beautiful and varied the magical land of Bali truly is. From the beaches to the jungles to the mountains, it’s all outstanding.
I was also impressed by the kindness of the Balinese people that we met. Although most would be considered poor by Western standards, they seem truly happy and content without the trappings of material wealth. Everyone I encountered greeted me with a warm and sincere smile. Even the street vendors were gracious when you rejected their entreaties to make a purchase, smiling and saying “ok, have a good day boss”.
Although you could observe some poverty out in the countryside, Bali is surprisingly clean. In the Philippines, I would often be saddend by the harsh reality of substandard living conditions and the desperation of the people I encountered. I never felt that at all in Bali.
Commenter Dennis asked about Balinese women. To be honest, I wasn’t paying that much attention. We were staying in resort areas versus the entertainment districts, so other than wait staff and regular citizens walking the streets (generally in sarangs) there wasn’t much to see. Most of the guests in the hotels were from Australia, India, and China. I guess my observation would be that the women of Bali tend to be dark skinned (reminded me of Filipinas in that regard) full-lipped, and tend to be full figured. That’s about all I can say about.
Anyway, Bali had been totally off my radar and I don’t know that I would have made the trip without the encouragement of Tom and Yuli. I’m really glad I did and I expect that there will be more Bali in my future. It is such a bargain compared to other tropical resort venues. If anyone is planning a trip there, let me know and I will set you up with our driver Daewa. You will be in good hands.
Moon over Bali
It’s the morning of my last day in the paradise that is Bali. I’m up this early because I was awakened by what sounded like a viscious dog fight next door. There was a full moon last night, so maybe they were werewolves.
Bad moon rising?
life’s a beach
a time to reflect
moonburst
moondance
Howlin’ at the moon
Anyway, I fly at 0040 in the morning on the redeye to Seoul. I’ll post some thoughts on the trip then.
On the beach in Bali
Friday we left the jungles of central Bali and moved to the coast for some beachside fun.
The last night in Ubud we celebrated Yuli’s birthday at her favorite restuarant, the Dirty Duck.
Where not surpisingly Fried Duck is the specialty. I had seafood.
The obligatory birthday cake ceremony.
Ji Yeon did some souvenir shopping at a beachside stall. That carving appears to be some kind of lewd act…
The entrance to our hotel, the Villa Kind Bintang Resort. Rack rate here is $95, but Yuli’s friend Yoeman got us in for a sweet 50 bucks a night.
The lobby. Open air as is typical of most buildings here. Ah, life on the equator…
The view from my room. You can kinda sorta see the ocean in the distance.
The pool, complete with bar.
Where I enjoyed my share of refreshing Bintang beer.
Yuli enjoying the water. I think she is part fish.
Ji Yeon tried to adopt this little German girl without success…
The Indian Ocean.
The beach in front of our hotel complex.
On the 4th of July we dined beachside…
Ji Yeon, Tom and Yeoman’s son Yoda enjoying the ambiance…
Watching the sunset while waiting for dinner to be served.
We purchased some roasted corn from this vendor as an appetizer. It was sweet and delicious…
Sundown.
Dinner is served. A feast fit for a king…
Dinner for seven came to rupee 700,000. Including several large Bintang beers, a coconut cocktail, and juice drinks. Folks, that is $70. Unbelievable. And everything was delicious.
The island of Bali. We are beaching on that small peninsula at the bottom. Ubud and jungle environs are about 30 KMs north. The volcanos at the top are where we took the road trip.
Sunday was watersports day. I’m a keep my feet on the ground kind of guy, but Yuli enjoyed the parasailing experience.
The banana boat was more my speed.
Woo Hoo!
We survived, wet but happy.
I also had my first jet ski experience, which was really a blast.
Ok, back to my vacation.
Bali road trip
Day 4 we hired a driver and went up into the mountains. Volcanos to be exact…
On the way I saw flowers…
Hillside villages…
Bats. (biggest damn bat I ever did see)
An Islamic mosque…
Hindu shrines….
Worshipers arriving by boat…
Hindi poobahs…
Photographed a photographer (Yuli)…
And a picturesque pier…
A flowering tree…
And finally, a volcanic lake.
Next up, we move to the beach. Stay tuned.
Fire Dance
The second part of the Wednesday night show was a fire dance. A variation of the walking on hot coals routine I guess. Here you go:
A little kerosene and a match…
Makes for a nice bonfire….
Mama always said don’t horse around with fire…
He kicked the coals around the floor, then walked on them until his feet were black. Pretty impressive.
More to come….
Happy Birthday USA!
Let freedom ring!
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Kecak Fire and Trance Dance
Wednesday night we say an amazing performance of the Kecak dance. I had never seen anything quite like it. Well, the Whirling Dervishes in Instanbul were pretty awesome, but this was more theatre than religious ceremony.
The dance depicts a fragment of the Hindu epic Ramyana. You can learn everything I know about it from Wikipedia. Even though I couldn’t follow the story, it was an impressive and entertaining performance. Here’s some photos:
The Hindu Temple where the performance took place.
Tradition is you where a flower in your hair here (at least they gave me one when we entered the temple. I was feeling a little gay again.
So, it started with this guy lighting the flames on an alter…
And then 100 guys come out chanting, gyrating, and dancing in a fascinating display.
Then they sat down in a circle and provided the music through voice…
So, our first characters appear…
Those gals could dance!
There’s a story being told here. Unfortnately, I can’t explain it.
I think this monkey dancer was one of the good guys…
Captured….
A battle ensues…
Justice and good ultimately prevail…
And I am out of time for now. Later, the Fire Dance!
On the town in Ubud
Sorry for the lack of trip upadates. I’ve encountered some spotty internet service of late. I had made pretty good progress on a post yesterday, when my computer just froze up, which cost me the entire thing. Frustrating for me. Oh well, I’m in a new location (this is day 6 of my trip). But since I want to keep on sequence, what follows is my Day 3 Trip Report.
Ubud (oobood) has its origins as an artist’s community and that is probably still an apt description. Many studios and shops selling wood carvings and other locally made creations. It’s a bustling place, at least during daytime. Many great restuarants to choose from, but from what I could see an almost non-existent bar scene. Lots of foriegners wandering the streets, from the accents I said mostly Aussies and Japanese.
Anyway, on with the show:
Giving offerings to the Hindu gods. This is a daily morning ritual I observed all over Bali; at temples, businesses and private homes. And I have never witnessed a more apparently devout population–temples and shrines virtually everywhere you look.
The locals call this the Royal Palace so I will too. Or at least it is the entrance to the Royal Palace grounds.
Another shrine. Some are quite elaborate.
Mainstreet Ubud. You may have noticed they drive on the right side of the road here. I’m not driving (we hire drivers) but it still takes getting used to, especially as a pedestrian. I’m doing better now, but I envisioned a tragic miscalculation and a tombstone reading “here lies John, he wasn’t too bright, he looked to the left but he should have looked right.”
An Ubud residential area. Quite nice, don’t you think?
After traversing from end to the other on Main Street, I was ready for a little rest and liquid refreshment. Many very nice looking places to choose from, but it was Nomad for me. Of course, I thought of Frank, formerly The Lost Nomad of Korea. His blog is a long time gone (ahem) but we are friends on facebook now, so it’s all good.
I have grown quite fond of Bintang, the local brew. I camped at a street-side table, quaffed my beer, smoked, and watched the passerbys. It was all good.
I guess it’s pretty easy to pick out the tourist in this shot. It amazing to see just how much the Balinese can carry on their heads. I saw one woman with a basket on her head riding a bicycle. I guess it’s just a question of balance.
When in Bali do as the Balinese, as the saying goes. The shoppers completed their expedition and joined me for lunch at Nomad. They had me try on a sarang, and it was quite comfortable. Although it made me feel a little gay (not that there’s anything wrong with it).
Yuli, Joeko, and Ji Yeon waiting for the shuttle back to the hotel after our day on the town in Ubud.
Lots more to come, but I’m going to publish this now before something happens and I lose it again. C U soon!
Out in the country
Here’s the day 2 report from Bali…
Typical Balinese fare. This was good…
Dining room in the hotel. Pretty cool, eh?
There are statues and shrines like this all over the hotel property. I assume this one has something to do with fertility…
Tom and Yuli purchased some property. A fairly complicated process given that Tom is a foriegner. The lawyers worked out all the deatails and the deed was done. I still can’t resist puns…
Ye olde goldfish pond…
Another shot of the cottages in which I currently reside…
I think I mentioned the hotel is built into a jungle hillside…
And that little river at the bottom gurgles me to sleep each night…
One of the two pools on the property. Had some excitement here. Turns out Ji Yeon is not much of a swimmer and she didn’t realize how deep this water was until she was smack dab in the middle of the pool. She went into a bit of panic and latched onto me, pulling me under as well. Scared the hell out of me, because I’m not a strong enough swimmer to carry us both. I gave her a mighty shove towards the side of the pool, but still out of her reach. She went under again, but by now Yuli and Joeko were able to pull her the rest of the way to the side. Definitely got my adreniline pumping…
It was definetly more relaxing laying flat on my back on the poolside lounge chair. This was my view from that vantage point…
Later we went into town for a bite of lunch. Don’t remember what this is called, but damn, it was spicy. Made me sweat behind the ears spicy. Luckily, I had a large bottle of Bintang, the local brew, to was it down…
Yuli, Tom, and Yuli’s brother Joeko were unfazed by spicy lunch and cleaned their plates. I did not and took a fair amount of razzing about it…
We headed out to view Tom and Yuli’s new property and encountered a Hindu ceremony in progress…
Village street scene…
Tom’s new property…
Ji Yeon obviously preferred the rice paddy to the swimming pool….
Working the land. Someday Tom’s house will overlook this area…
Tom was quick to make friends with the local neighborhood kids…
The street in front of Tom’s property…
A gateway I fancied…
Almost all the residences have a Hindu shrine on the property.
Ok, time to get on with the vacation. More to come.