Great Improbabilities

Do you ever have those moments in your life where nothing seems good, you feel you are trapped by the bad, and there is no way out? Then all the sudden the world flips on its head and you can see the light at the end of the tunnel? Well, today I think good things will happen. I'm 100% positive. This morning, I arrived at work. I set off the building alarm and had to call the boss at 7:30 AM. More bad things to add to the heap. Apparently, my alarm code was removed for a generic one. Unfortunately, I had forgotten the generic code, and didn't realize that my default code had been removed. I got the code and turned off the alarm, I put my lunch in the fridge, and then I went to my desk. I threw my keys on the desk, unloaded a few things from my pack, and got to work. About an hour an a half later, I notice my keys. Now, the picture isn't great, but you can see that my keys are all balanced on the key tips. There are five keys, and the tags, and remote are all balanced on top of the keys.

I think this is truly one of the most improbable things I have ever seen. It is as exciting when I was dealt a Royal Flush and a Straight Flush, all in the same night of playing poker. I think things maybe looking up for me. I'll still keep my fingers crossed...I need all the luck I can get.

Seoul long

Well, it has been a couple of days since I returned from Seoul, Korea.  It was an amazing adventure, that I am very thankful and glad to have been there to visit.  I decided it was okay to take some pictures.

I actually ended my day with a picture of the Archway of Itaewon.  It is much prettier in the night all lit up.  You have to be careful taking pictures at night in Itaewon.  If you get a picture of a prostitute they will start to yell at you and be very vicious.  

I took several pictures down the streets, and they aren't much to look at but you can see that the place is kind of similar to any city town in the U.S.A.

The Friday nightlife was much more packed with people.  The streets had lots of activity and the bars were worth every moment.  I don't smoke, and I usually don't like bars because of the smoke.  In Korea, you can still smoke in the bars, and it is disgusting, but the activities really are entertainment.

Laura again joined us at the Seoul Pub, and we had fun watching the young guys picking up on the girls in the bar.  Strategizing about their pickup lines and how they were getting all cozy with the babes.

We also stopped at the Hard Rock and saw these amazing girls rocking out with their electric trio of violin, chelo, and viola.  It was loud, and so it made it difficult to have a conversation, but it was fun all the same.  I find it difficult to focus on a conversation, so as 11:30 rolled around, I got myself out of there, and took a few more pictures of the walk home.  It was a nice walk, and not long at all.  Most people grab a cab, but I found that the streets were safe.  I had to dodge a few cars, but that isn't any different than during the day time.

I look forward to my next trip to Seoul, but I think it will be great to visit other area's of the world too.  I mean, I have yet to even be to the east-coast.  I have lots more adventure in me.

Seoul Long!

Seoul Secrets

Ugh.  What is it about alcohol and me?  I had four beers, over four hours and I feel like I've been hit by a truck.  Seriously, I have not had that much to drink in one night in years and the lesson is well learned.

Of course, it simply could be that I haven't had enough sleep.  I have yet to sleep in and get on Korea time.   I usually am asleep by eight or nine, and up by four.   Last night I pushed myself to stay up until after eleven.  I still got up at 5:30 AM.

And then it might be a hangover.  As I said, I don't usually drink much, so four beers in a single night is a lot for me.  I'm chugging water as I hope my eye balls will stop feeling like they want to jump out of my head.  I think this is the real reason I usually only have one drink in any given night.  My poor liver.

So about last night -- One of my co-workers who I have never met but have had a very long phone relationship with asks me to join him and his buddies at the bar.  It is Thursday night and I figure I should see the night life here at least once, and I decide I will have some fun too.  I meet up the group and we are in this little shack of a bar.  The beer is like $2 and crappy, but we sit around chat, get a bit inebriated, shoot darts (or watch in my case), and have a bit of food.  Now, I say something to the affect of "Where is everyone?"  Apparently, people are responsible sometimes, and when they are it seems to happen as a group effort.  So really the streets where not that crowded.  Usually, or so I'm told, on the weekend (Thursday is the start of the weekend -- didn't you know that?) it gets much more crowded.

The group thought it would be "fun" to show the darker side of Seoul.  They wanted me to meet the "Juicy Girls" who come over and "talk" with you if you buy them a 20,000 won drink.  Fortunately, that didn't happen.  If you have a woman in your group they tend to leave you alone.  Thank God for Laura.  I think just walking down the alley of "bars" where these girls hid behind not so tinted glass with a not so hidden agenda was enough of the seedy side.  I felt thankful that one of the guys in the group who had no girlfriend was drawing a line in what bars he was comfortable with, and that made it easier to walk away from the "peer pressure."  must have though my discomfort would be entertaining.  It probably could have been.  They were a nice group of people for sure.

After four hours of drinking and checking out the local night life I was ready to go back to my room and get some sleep.  You already know how that worked out for me.   I think tonight, I will probably put on my camera and go take some pictures, avoid alcohol, and watch the people.  One of the guys in the group had a Nikon D300 which took some pretty nice looking pictures.  I didn't take it last night, and I would have liked to get some additional pictures before heading home.

So maybe there will be one more Seoul Adventure.

Satisfied Seoul

I did it.  I finally tried the local cuisine.  However, I made a mistake.  I was told not to eat the chicken.  So I didn't order chicken, but I did order a dish that had an egg on top.  Cross your fingers I don't get the Avian Flu.  Fortunately, I was in Itaewon which is basically like going to Capital Hill.  It is very hip and trendy.  Many shop owners were very nice to me and wanted me to sell me a nice suit.  I kind of wish I wore fancy clothes.  Apparently, I need to dress a bit nicer though.

So the dinner was "ok."  The food was fine, and the over all experience was pleasant enough.  I think I will forever regret not sitting down in Namdaemun when the lady said to me "American Friend!"  I should have sat down and let her serve me food, and just had a nice local lunch.  Instead, I let my fear of not knowing what I could order stop me.  I did finally do it though.  Tomorrow, I will try to bulgogi.  It is a beef BBQ, and I should have tried it tonight.  I only had a few thousand on me, so I limited my meal to what I had on hand.

I only have a few days left, and I'm looking forward to fitting a couple more adventures into my trip.  Hopefully, there will be more to come. 

Seoul Sacrifice

Today was a work day.  No pictures to share, no grand adventure into the city.  In fact, today was just any other day.  It was coming and I knew it would, but somehow I didn't expect that I would be so disappointed to not have another day around the city.

The good news is that my feet were in great need of some rest.  So tonight it is about a classic Robin Williams movie "Club Paradise" some chocolate and sweets.  Of course, I had a nice dinner with $0.99 beers.   I cannot remember the last time I had a beer for $0.99.  That made the dinner worth it.

So not a lot to say about Korea today, except I wish I had more time here to visit the place.  I look at my pictures and I feel I did pretty good.  I just hope I have more time to take pictures.  This country is really wonderful, and I think there is so much to be learned in places like Korea.  I'm very tempted to stay for a bit longer, but at the same time -- I miss my family.

Seoul Survivor

Day 2

I made my way out to Namdaemun Market today. It was something else. The crowds were pushing and filling every space open. On a few occassions an opening would become available, but it never lasted.
I wandered all around the Market, until my feet became too sore and tired to continue.

The shops are litterally this tiny little stalls. Even in the builds an empty stall is about the size of your average closet without the doors. I actually had to stop taking pictures, because at one point I took a step back and a stick fell and landed on a poor girls head. I felt bad but apparently that isn't all that uncommon as no one seemed to mind.

I found most everything there not worth purchasing. The clothing was so small. A size 15 in women's jeans were like a size zero in the U.S. And the men's suits were fantastic like 40000 won, but again I couldn't fit anything.

I almost tried some of the food.  I didn't do it though.  I couldn't bring myself to eat alone.  I read that Korean's like to eat with family and friends, and seldom eat alone.  Ever since I read that I just have been afraid.  I had an opportunity from a nice woman that invited me into her restaurant and I said no.  I regret that on hind sight, but I I will get other chances to eat the local cuisine.  Honestly, the local food looks better than the pictures that the show the items they serve.  I find the idea of eating live "mini octopi" is very weird.  Apparently, some people actually do eat them alive.  The grilled food smells so wonderful too.  I guess I will just have to be brave and eat alone.  We'll do that tomorrow.  I will let you know how that works out.

Seoul Searching

As you might have guess, from the title. I got lost in Seoul. Without my trusty navigator, Sara, I managed to think I could walk 55km, and could use a subway map for riding the buses.

Yes, I'm a genius.

My travels began Friday morning, and Ended Saturday evening. The trip wasn't too bad even with crossing the International Date line. My first stop was in Tokyo. After ten hours of flying all I wanted was something to sleep on. Unfortunately, Air Ports are not made for sleeping. And I seem to always get stuck with the guy who wants to share with me how much he loves Jesus. I was worried that he'd want to talk for the whole flight, as he mentioned that the personal video screens and headphones were a way to make it so people didn't have to communicate. Fortunately, he fell asleep pretty quickly, and I had the opportunity to grab some shuteye as well.

I did manage to watch three movies in the ten hours of travel to Tokyo. I watched Jumper, The Golden Compass, and 27 Dresses. All of these movies sucked. Ever single one. Jumper was boring, The Golden Compass ends incomplete, and 27 Dresses -- well, I fell asleep through it, twice.

I finally got to Korea, and was fortunate enough to meet someone who was going to the same place as me. It made getting to the destination after nearly 20 hours of travel very easy. When I got to my room, I sent Sara a quick e-mail, and then fell asleep. When I woke up six hours later, I took a quick picture of the view from my window. I was pretty anxious to get out and start seeing the place, since I probably won't get much time to see Seoul during the day time. I ended up walking off to Samgakchi, where I stopped at the Korean War Museum. I didn't actually go inside, but I did walk around much of the open space that is free. There was plenty to see and I managed to take numerous pictures.

After wondering around the parameter of the Museum, I began walking to Namsan. This is where the Seoul Tower is located, and the walk is all up hill, but it was beautiful. This is where I spent most of my day, and I enjoyed taking pictures. The weather was overcast, and the temperature was very warm so as I walked I was sweating up a lake. As you walk along there are small shops everywhere. You literally can walk just about anywhere and you can get a snack, and water. My first won spent was 700 won for a bottle of water.

Along the way to Namsan there were a couple of things that stood out. One is the fact that on some of the buildings there were these huge televisions, which are used to advertise. They literally distract their driving population with television. The driving population is very angry too. It is almost like there is a war between the different public transportation drivers. The other thing I noticed is that they have live animals along the way. One such thing was an aquarium filled with these tiny little octopi. Sad that they were going to be turned into a meal for a customer. There was also an area of like five blocks of puppies being sold. They were very cute, but it was also extremely sad.

When I got to Namsan, it became clear that I should have taken the public transportation. Many locals use the hike to the top as an opportunity to exercise. Along the way there are several areas where you can stand on a plate that swivels and you can rotate back and forth. You can also do pull ups, and even lift weights with a bench press, or arm curl.  As you walk up a series of steps you get an opportunity to relax as well.  There are more vendors to buy things from, and many people will bring along a picnic, or watch one of the many events that is going on.  As I was walking up I noticed the voices.  People in Korea like to sing.  Some of it is good, and some is bad.  All of it is entertaining.

As I made the final approach to the top of Namsan, I noticed this drumming sound. Thump, Thump thump, Thump, Thump thump. It made the walk up all these stairs doable. The stairs seemed to climb for a very long time, and each step was actually larger than one would hope for during a hike. Many of the older folks had actually picked up walking sticks to make their way up the steps.

I approached the top and noticed that the singing seemed to be more radio pop than actual drums. Fortunately, there were actual drums, but for a brief moment the sound I heard was pop Korean music. Soon after passing the radio, I came to the top and there was a plaza that had a bunch of very happy youth drumming and dancing and banging on cymbals. I stopped to watch and take pictures for about an hour. I needed the time to rest too. I think the best part was the number of people who saw me with a camera, and wanted me to take a family picture of them with their own cameras. In Korea, at least in Seoul, everyone has a camera. Most are on their phones, but they use the camera all the time.

I finished resting and I began to wander down the hill.
On the way down, I chose to walk the other side. There were a couple of neat stacks of rocks that I found to be amazing looking and reminded me of Goldsworth. I ended up walking down to the bus stop. This is where I got on a bus, and rode around for a short while. I eventually got off the bus as I thought it was going back to the top of the hill. Really it was a mountain, as it even had a area that you could rock climb if it were not a national park. I ended up hoping off the bus, and wandering around downtown Seoul. I ran into a number of things, but I found it almost too unbelievable that at home in Washington there has been an effort to get light rail, improve schools, and all sorts of other social programs with little or no success. In Korea, they have amazing parks all over the place, and they have a day to celebrate the children. One of the parks was a baseball park for the youth games. I have never seen a baseball field this nice for the kids anywhere in the U.S. It just goes to show that socialism can work with democracy. Capitalism can even work with socialism and democracy. The capitalism here is very present, and the people have embraced it alone with American television.

As I was lost and looking for a bus to get me back to my hotel, a very nice guy named Enroh, "Roh" offered help. We talked quite a bit and he showed me how to use the Subway. The Subway is a bit difficult because there isn't as much English to help guide you. In Korea, the people have embraced English, and often long after their education has finished they will spend time studying and improving their english skills. Roh told me that CSI is very popular here and when he heard I was from Seattle, he mentioned that he like Grey's Anatomy as well.

I managed to get back to the hotel, with a blister on my little toe, and just tired feet altogether. Tomorrow will be much of the same, as it is the national holiday to celebrate children here, and I don't have any work to do yet. So I will post more pictures, and please check out the other images in my album