Well, it doesn’t really matter because not much has changed here since my last post way back in August. Well, the leaves have changed because summer is long gone and autumn is in her death throes. It’s actually been quite beautiful, I love the yellow and red leaves blowing about the city streets like confetti. Bleah, my writing has not much improved has it?

Anyway, I’m not going to try and catch you up on everything in one fell swoop. First, it would be boring as hell. And second, after my long hiatus I expect I’m down to literally one or two faithful readers and they probably can guess what’s been up. But thanks Jenn and Susan and Nomad for checking up on me. I actually had a couple of other acquaintances ask what happened to my blog and expressed some remorse that I was not posting. As did my mother. So, I may never have had many readers, but damn those few of you are loyal. I did miss my little blog more than I would have imagined and I am resolved to post with some semblance of regularity now that I have her back. I know, promises, promises.

For those curious about why my account was suspended so long I’ll share that story. Even though it makes me look stupid. It was really all just a misunderstanding. Here’s how it went down:

Way back when (late August, early September) I happened to check my credit card statement. I only do so periodically as I am lazy and disorganized. And it is actually not a credit card, it is the debit card for my checking account. So, I see this charge to “West Bend Web” for $172.80. And by God, I never even heard of West Bend Web and I damn sure didn’t make a purchase from them through PayPal.

So, I marched on down to my bank (which is actually a credit union) and in my outrage filed a dispute and canceled my debit card since someone had obviously stolen the number somehow.
About a week later I get a letter from the credit union saying they had notified PayPal of the dispute and had provisionally credited my account in the amount of $172.80. Ok, so far so good.

A couple of days later my blog was suspended. What’s up with that? I went to the help page at Blogs-about.com (my blog host) and initiated a claim ticket. I started this blog in December 2004 so I figured I was paid up until December (I pay annually) and besides, I had never gotten a bill. It took several days for Blogs-about to get back to me with the news that PayPal had rescinded my payment in the amount of $172.80. Oops!

Turns out, I had been on a month-to-month basis until August 2005, and then switched over to the annual payment. Not that I remembered doing that. And it also seems that I set this up as an automatic payment, which is why I never got a bill. Well. Geez. So, I’m stupid, ok?

And then began the nightmare of trying to reverse the events my ignorance had set in motion. First, I went back to the credit union and said “my bad, West Bend Web is the name Blogs-about uses for billing (no, I don’t know why, but that’s what caused the confusion) so, please withdraw the dispute.” A few days later I get the letter confirming that the dispute was withdrawn and advising that the $172.80 credit was being reversed. Ok. So, I figure PayPal would remit the money to West Bend and I would be back in business. Nope.

After waiting a few days, I went back to Blogs-about and asked what was going on. They said PayPal had not remitted the funds and I should contact them for the status. Trust me, if you have never navigated the Byzantine world that is PayPal consider yourself fortunate.

Since I had made a disputed payment claim, they had blocked my account. To reinstate my account. I had to jump through several hoops. One of which involved FAXing my credit card statement. Except I had canceled that account. The other involved FAXing a utility bill from the address on my account, which is in Virginia. And as most of you know, I live in Korea these days. And oh yeah, PayPal has no record of the $172.80 being remitted by my bank.

So, I found a phone number for the PayPal folks and actually talked to a real live human being. I explained the situation in detail and the kind female voice on the other end of the line was very understanding and promised to see what she could do.

A couple of days later I received an email from PayPal explaining in step-by-step detail what I needed to do to reinstate the the account. And yes, it involved a credit card statement for an account that no longer exists and a utility bill from a place I no longer reside. And no mention whatsoever of the $172.80 that was withdrawn from my account. Hmm.

So, I emailed the woman at the credit union (in San Diego) who had handled my initial dispute and got an “out of office” reply indicating she was no longer employed there. I then emailed the contact address at the credit union explaining the situation and got a form letter reply with a dispute form attached. Yeah, that worked out well for me last time!

So. I decided to try and work an end-around. I registered for a new PayPal account (which required me to use a new email address (only one account per email address apparently). To establish a new account PayPal bills your credit card $1.95. When that charge appears on your statement there is a four-digit number. Then you send that number to PayPal and you are verified and can make purchases. This took about a week.

So, with my new account in hand I paid for a new subscription at Blogs-about. And waited. And waited. And wrote the help desk. And wrote the help desk again. And then in the wee dark hours of last night, my blog as if by magic reappeared.

Meanwhile, I have no idea where the $172.80 currently resides. I’m wondering if the woman at the credit union took it with her. Assuming PayPal has the money, it will be placed in the account I can no longer use because I can’t verify I am who I say I am.

So, after all this hassle all I’ve got to show is a blog I’ve paid twice for and this crappy post. Well, I’m not done fighting to get this resolved but I’m pretty much exhausted at this point and lord knows what havoc I will wreak by filing a new dispute with the credit union. Stay tuned for more of my exciting life.

Ok, I also need to bring you up to speed on my dart life and happenings at the office. But we will save those posts for another day. I have my Korean lesson tonight and I have not studied since the last one. I’m learning verbs these days which I think may be a key ingredient to me speaking in actual sentences someday. I have an amazing vocabulary consisting of fruits, animals, seasons, body parts and the like, but practically speaking, it’s not much help in conversation with the natives. Although one night when a Korean guy called me a hippo I said “do you mean hama?”. He was quite impressed with my grasp of the language. Well, hell, I can order beer and ask where the bathroom is in Korean. Really, what else do you need to know?

Well, more accurately an ass kicking. The Blessed Bulls from Bless U Pub took us down last night 12-7. My game was definitely off and I was lucky to escape with 2 legs won (losing 4). Ah well, nothing to do but keep plugging away.

Congrats to Craig and the boys on a well played match.

UPDATE: In the comments Nomad points out this excellent post from the Party Pooper which provides a very in depth discussion on the “virtues” of a dog meat diet. He even has pictures which may be more than most dog lovers can stomach (heh, a double entendre and pun at once). Here’s a PETA add I lifted from PP. As he notes, this may have not been the most effective anti-meat ad here in Korea.

The Nomad has an interesting post today concerning the alleged nutritional benefits of man’s best friend. Apparently the Western mind and modern science is incapable of comprehending these “facts”. Well, I do admit that I can’t grasp the concept of drinking dog penis wine even if it were proven to be a magic elixir of youth. I will continue to cure what ails me with kimchee, thank you very much.

Nothing reminds me more about how out of touch with American culture I’ve become than when I look at the movies being sold by the street vendors in Itaewon. I swear, I’ve never heard anything about 90% of the offerings. So, it is always a hit and miss affair when I make a purchase. Most of the time I miss. Got lucky last year when I bought “Crash” (well before the Oscar nomination). And I just watched another good one called “Stranger than Fiction”. I wanted to buy “The Simpson’s” but it was sold out, so I picked up STF only because I recognized most of the actors in the film. Will Farrell, Dustin Hoffman, and Emma Thompson were all excellent in a story that was quite different than I expected. Not really a comedy, although there were some funny moments, and maybe sappy in spots, but still very entertaining. It had a unique way of presenting the story that I won’t spoil here. Here’s a clue: I was reminded of the adventures of Gumby when he really got into a book. And I haven’t thought of Gumby for a long time. Probably longer than some of you youngsters have been alive.

Anyway, if you are looking for something to watch on the DVD, I can highly recommend this film.

but as for me, I’m sticking with the samgaetong…

For those who might not understand the reference, some Koreans believe eating dog meat on the hottest days of summer is good for the health. I’ve actually not met anyone who admits to eating dog meat though, but I’ve seen restuarants that specialize in this delicacy and pictures of the dog meat market. Not to be culturally insensitive but I find it all pretty disgusting. Frankly, the Koreans I know are also revulsed by the practice. The alternative is samgaetong, which is a chicken soup-like concoction. Bascially a half chicken served in a boiling broth. So tender it just falls off the bone. Which is good considering how klutzy I am with chopsticks. It is actually quite tasty.

Anyway, it has been miserably hot here these past few days. Air so thick with humidity you almost have to be a fish to breathe. And we are still in the midst of monsoon season, which means daily thunderstorms. Doesn’t seem to cool things off much though, just adds more moisture to the air. Ah well, not much you can do about the weather.

Pretty good night at the Dolce dart tourney last night. Two seconds and a first.

And that’s about it from here.

Great night for darts. Took down Gecko’s 13-6. As for me, went 6-0 with some six marks, five marks, tons+, and a 3bc. Maybe my slump is over…

Well, the first game of the summer/fall dart season commenced Monday night. We drew our nemesis and rival Alley Ratz from the 3 Alley Pub. Last time we met was in the league championship game, which we narrowly lost 10-9. Nothing nearly as dramatic this time as we were beaten rather handily 12-7.

It seems I always draw Max of the Ratz in singles–Monday was our third straight regular season matchup. Last season we traded 2-1 outcomes. He got me this time 2-1, although if I hadn’t been so inept in the third cricket leg I might have reversed that. I can’t afford to be off my game like that if Take it Easy is going to be competitive in the Artic Division (basically high B or low A calibre teams). Cuatro and I did take cricket doubles 3-0, but it was meaningless at that point as the match had already been decided.

The bright notes were Lonnie’s continued improvement. He played well against Eric who in the past would have dominated him. I’m looking for big things from Lonnie this season, he just needs to keep his confidence and improve his consistency. We also got our team jersey’s, although they arrived too late to be worn during the match. Lonnie did the graphic design, which is pretty damn cool–the Korean peninsula as the outline of a dart board. I will try to get a picture of the team in uniform next week.

Another tough matchup coming against the Wolfhound Pub team. Stay tuned.

Getting back into the routine of my life here, including the Friday night tourney at Dolce Vita.

The three week layoff has left me feeling a little uncomfortable with my throwing. I’m still getting decent results, but I just can’t seem to find my rhythm. Plus, I had some equipment trouble and had to replace my shafts with some that are a tad heavier. My darts seem to be highly sensitive to any aerodynamic alterations, and last night I was getting a lot of fallouts/bounceouts and a general lack of zip in my throws.

Regardless, Lonnie and I managed to finish second in the Early Bird tourney, and Dave and I took first place in the Die Hard event. Didn’t place in the Prime Time tournament, but my partner Margaret and I gave it a good run. So, coupled with my 100,000W payout from the challenge league championship I came home with more money in my pocket than I started with, which is good because I am definitely broke after my vacation.

Monday night the regular Seoul International Dart League season begins. We open with Alley Ratz from 3 Alley Pub, the team that beat us in the championship game last season. They look to be even stronger this year, so we have got our work cut out for us. Still, nobody has more fun than we do and I am really looking forward to getting back into the competition.

And that’s all I have to say about that.