Sung Nam Golf Club - (Korea) Day 346

A view of one of the holes at Sung Nam Golf Club with the guys that came as part of our group

Woke up about 0700, which is a little too early for a normal day off…but this just isn't any normal day off…I'm going golfing with SPC Roy. I got ready and ended up getting picked up by SPC Roy around 0800. We headed to the shoppette and picked up some beer, because golfing is one of the few places where it's legal to drink and drive. Plus I'm not that good at golf, so drinking makes it much more fun.

There is a shuttle bus that runs from Yongsan to Sung Nam Golf Club, which is a US Army golf course about 30-45 minutes from post. We met up with a couple guys that SPC Roy knows and one of them brought an extra set of clubs that SPC Roy and I decided to share to keep the costs down. Since this is a US Army golf course the prices are based on rank and for E-4 and below it's only $25 ($35 with cart) for 18 holes which is not a bad deal. The course itself was nice, a little short…but for me that is a plus. The guys we played with were decent golfers so instead of using the white tees I usually use, we used the blue tees.

Surprisingly I did fairly well. I hit the ball straight for the most part and even got par twice with the opportunity to get par about 4 other times. For those that have golfed with me before, they know this is a minor miracle. We all had a great time, the day was perfect and I can now say I've golfed in Korea.

We ended up taking a taxi back to post because the shuttle was going to be an hour an a half. Once back SPC Roy wanted to go out and eat, I ended up calling the young hawaiian and had him come with us so I could hear about his leave in the Philippines. We went to a little hole in the wall restaurant in Seoul that SPC Roy knew of. We had all you can eat pork and sides for only 10,000 Won (a little under $10). We fried up the pork at the table along with soup and various other sides. We ate and drank makkoli and chatted for quite a while before deciding to head to Itaewon for another beer before calling it a night.

I was pretty exhausted after 18 holes of golf and constantly drinking alcohol all day long. I never drank a lot at once, but it seemed like it was a slow constant all day long. I slept very well all night long…if you don't count the 4 or 5 times I had to get up and go pee.

Weekend Wrap-Up - (Korea) Days 334 & 335

All the performers for the taekwondo exhibition during 
the Itaewon Global Village Festival

Saturday: Woke up about 0930 and did laundry and video chatted with my wife as usual. I then headed to Itaewon to check out the Itaewon Global Village Festival. They shut down the normally busy street and open it up for various performances and vendors. I got there in time to see a  taekwondo demonstration. These guys were pretty impressive jumping all over the place breaking boards and kicking apples into chunks all over. I walked around checked out some of the vendors, but decided on eating Cold Stone ice cream since I don't happen by there too often.

When I got back I made a trip to the commissary with PV2 Charlie. Before we left I setup my laptop in his room to do some downloading. Unfortunately I went over my limit for internet usage today. I got a call from my roommate telling me we were over. If I were to redo my internet usage I would have kept with the unlimited plan I first had instead of trying to save money with my roommate's version. Yes it's been cheaper, but it's also slower and there is a limit. I shouldn't be here too much longer, so I'll make do for now.

I headed to the gym and had a pretty good workout. It was pretty funny because I was one of the few US soldiers there on a Saturday night. There were a few ROK soldiers, but they are not allowed to leave the post. I did run into CPT Hooah! and we chatted a bit before I left. I just don't have the desire to go out unless I'm heading out with a friend or if there is a specific reason to do so.

Because of my internet situation, when I got back from the gym I went to PV2 Charlie's room to do my schoolwork. He then let me borrow the latest movie from the Pirates of the Caribbean series. I watched that and was surprised that it was actually better than the previous ones out there. I then watched an episode of The Ultimate Fighter before turning in for the night.

A flying kick to break some boards during the Itaewon Global Village Festival

Some Korean clown vendors giving away some sort of candy
during the Itaewon Global Village Festival

Dancers started dancing right in the middle of the street
during the Itaewon Global Village Festival

A little video I put together from the event

Sunday: Woke up around 0900 and headed to Starbucks to get some coffee and a bagel. I then headed to PV2 Charlie's room to watch the UFC event. The young hawaiian has his parents visiting and PFC Pickle moved into Hannam Village. His family finally arrived and this is where all the family housing is. Worked out fine because PV2 Charlie is just right down the hall from me in the barracks.

When the fights were over I headed to my room for lunch and then went and got my haircut. When I got back I went back to PV2 Charlie's room to do my schoolwork for a while. All the time he was playing XBox with a friend of his over the internet. It sounded like he was talking to himself the whole time…lol.

I headed back to my room and watched an episode of Flashpoint before heading over to visit PFC Pickle and his family. I was invited over for dinner, so I grabbed a taxi and took off. The ride was interesting to say the least. I had an old man, who because of the festival in Itaewon took a number of backroads…some of which only one car could fit through at a time. There were a few times when we found our selves face to face with another car…both would sit there for a while and then finally one would back up and find a way to move to the side and let the other pass. I didn't think I was ever going to make it.

Once there I met up with PFC Pickle and to my surprise he had another family of three over as well. It was fine and the food was good, but I really felt like the odd man out. The two wives were talking and hanging out, the two kids were full of energy and playing non stop, and the two dads were trying to control their kids the entire time. Finally about 2030 I said I needed to head back and PFC Pickle took me to the taxi stand, but there were no taxis there. I called the number and then received a text not too long afterwards saying that they would not be coming to pick me up. I ended up going out to the street and catching a cab on the outside. I was able to finally get him to understand where I needed to go and he was able to drop me off at the gate. Needless to say I will not be going to visit PFC Pickle anymore. Too much of a hassle to get there and get back.

Weekend Wrap-Up - (Korea) Days 299 - 300

A look at paragliders from our group heading towards the landing area where we were waiting

Saturday: Woke up at 0640 so I could video chat with my wife for a bit before leaving for the paragliding tour I signed up for. I caught the bus at 0800 and we stopped by K-16 to pick up a couple more soldiers before heading to a place about an hour or so farther south. It's a small world…on the bus was a platoon sergeant of mine from AIT. She was just a total bitch back in AIT and I thought it may bring the whole trip down a bit..and she sat almost directly across from me…ughhhh.

When we arrived, we waited at the paragliding school for about a half hour and then paid our money. It turns out we can also purchase a movie for an extra $10. The tour guide loaned me the money since I only brought what they stated it cost. We then walked over to a field where all the landings would take place. A truck then started taking people up a mountain 3 people at a time. I was in the third group, so I got to see a few landings before heading up. There is a lot of waiting and anticipation because it takes about 15 minutes for them to drive the people up, and then about 10 to 15 minutes for each flight down.

While waiting the former AIT platoon sergeant started talking to me. Surprisingly she remembered who I was and asked where I ended up and what I'm doing. It's very strange, she was talking and smiling and actually very nice…a total 180 degrees from back in AIT. I guess even the NCOs hate the TRADOC environment. So now she turns out to be a nice person, who would've thought!

So it's my turn to head up and we all stuff into this truck and head up the mountain. We drive up on a narrow road that looks as though it's been washed out a few times. It feels like we're going on a four by four expedition. We just keep going up and up and I keep looking wondering if we're going to fall of the edge of this road or not, or if the truck is going to get stuck. Surprisingly we make it to the top and all unload. The chutes are all in the back and we all get strapped into our gear. We wear what turns out to be a seat (and butt cushion for the landing) that gets strapped to the professional that drives this paragliding contraption.

I hear a guy ask what I think is "Who's first time here", so I raise my hand. What he actually said was "Who wants to go first?". So before I realize what's going on I'm strapped to a guy and being told these important instructions "When we say go, start running and don't stop!" This is probably the scariest part because I'm at the top of the mountain and there is only a short distance to run before it falls off sharply. I'm wondering how long it takes for me to start gliding…am I going to end up not getting enough air…am I going to end up tumbling down this mountain with a Korean stuck to me???

Then the moment of truth arrives…I hear them say go! I start running but only get about two steps before I'm actually only running in place and not moving anywhere. Before I know it we are up in the air and gliding! The entire experience from this point on seems surreal. The view is awesome and you just hear the wind. It's just an awesome experience! We made our way around and during this time I was holding their camera on a rod that is connected to me with a safety strap. I'm taking video and then the instructor changes it to photo and we take a couple pictures. We then prepare to land and come in very smooth. The only thing I would change is I would take some motion sickness pills before hand. It wasn't bad, but it did take me a little while to stop being a little woosie.

Most landings for the day were smooth, but there was a couple semi-hard landings along with one that didn't even make it to the field, instead they landed on the bank before the field and then tumbled into the creek that ran below. The lady that was on it hobbled out and had a pretty bad twisted ankle, but that was the only injury for the day.

We then loaded the bus and ended back on post a little after 1600. We're told they will get in touch with us about the video and photos. Hopefully it turns out pretty good. I headed to my room and did laundry while watching an episode of Breaking Bad. I then took out PV2 Charlie to Itaewon just to walk around and people watch. He's under 21, so no drinking for him. He hadn't been off post yet and has been here two weeks. I felt pretty bad for him. PFC Pickle also came along just to get out and do something. We walked up and down the strip and then we also took him up one of the side streets to show him all the places that are off limits. These include a number of suspect establishments with scantily clad women at the doors trying to beckon you in. He assured us he will not be going back there. After a couple hours we head back to the rooms and call it a night.

The view from atop the mountain where we took off

People prepping the equipment for take-off

My former AIT platoon sergeant getting strapped in and ready to go.

My former AIT platoon sergeant holding the camera that is used while recording in-flight video

Sunday: I wake up around 0830, get ready, go to Starbucks, then head to PFC Pickle's room to watch UFC. It was a pretty good card with Jon Jones vs. Rampage Jackson as the main event. Jon Jones is a machine and has beat everyone he's come across with ease. As much as I like Rampage and hoped he would be different deep down I knew he would not win this fight unless he got a lucky punch in. Such was the case, Jon Jones picked Rampage apart and won the fight.

I then headed back to my room and video chatted with my wife for a while. After that it was an episode of Breaking Bad, then some work on a Windows 7 SkillPort. I also did a normal SkillPort just so I can add some more hours. I watched the new CSI and then headed to The Point to go work out with PFC Pickle. It was nice to get back to the gym after not going for a while. Since getting sick I stopped going so my body could rest and I could get better.

I ended the night by watching an old classic movie "Conan The Barbarian". I remember watching it many times as a kid and loving it. It was still fun to watch it once again after all these years.

Weekend Wrap-Up (3-Day) - (Korea) Days 271 - 273

Our "Victory Dinner" Korean BBQ with scrambled eggs & kimchi...Very Good!!

Saturday: I woke up around 0830 after 13 hours of much needed sleep, a great way to start a three day weekend. We get Monday off as a training holiday because of the exercise. I did my usual Saturday morning ritual of laundry and then video chatting with the wife and kids. I caught up on everything and spent a couple hours video chatting. It was nice to see and hear everyone. I wonder all the time if I've made a huge mistake joining the army because of all the time I will end up being away from my wife and kids. I will be missing so much of their preteen and teenage years. So many don't realize the everyday sacrifices that go into being in the military.

Today is our office's enlisted "victory party". The top brass are all having their own posh victory party celebrating their virtual win over North Korea during the exercise, so our NCOIC thought our office should do the same. We met up at the office at 1800…that is everyone except for Special K. He is notorious for not being able to do any after work activities because his wife has him on a very short leash. His excuse was that his mother was sick, but I'm not buying it. I'm pretty sure his wife told him that there is no way he's going.

The rest of us (our NCOIC, SPC Mick, & our KATUSA) headed to the subway and after about 4 stops we got off and headed to our NCOIC's favorite Korean BBQ establishment. The place is a little different than others because in addition to the BBQ, there is egg poured around the edge. While the meat is cooking the eggs start to scramble and kimchi is thrown in with it. It all tasted wonderful. Our NCOIC's husband (Mr NCOIC) joined us and we had quite a bit of soju and plenty of food. Everything was going swell until all of a sudden Mr. NCOIC got very pissed at our NCOIC. I won't go into details (it involved their kid), but he went from nice guy to yelling and cussing very loud. I felt bad for our NCOIC because I know she was pretty embarrassed. Not quite the night she had planned for us. Their fight eventually led them outside and finally they ended up leaving. Our NCOIC apologized and paid the bill. So we were sitting there wondering what to do the rest of the night.

We ended up going to a somewhat famous night club in Seoul called "Monkey Beach". Not really my scene at all, but fun to people watch. Young folks dancing to pop music on all the tables. We all ordered drinks and they were served to us in buckets. I can tell you that this was the start of what would later become a bad hangover. We hung out for a while and then our KATUSA said we should go do karaoke. Not wanting to waste any alcohol, I quickly finished my bucket…not a good decision.

Karaoke is very popular in Korea. They have a number of places you can go and rent a small room and sing karaoke. These places also serve food and beer to your room. We all got a room and started singing…well I laid down for a bit…something just wasn't quite right with my stomach, but after a couple of songs I was good to go. We all had some beer and we all sang…and by sang I mean we all sounded terrible. It's a good thing we had our own room. Our KATUSA was actually so bad, I didn't have any inhibitions about singing at all because nobody could be worse than him…lol.

We then got a call from our NCOIC and she said she wanted to meet up with us in Itaewon at a place called Seoul Pub. We took a taxi there and met up with her and her husband. They had worked things out and we all sat at a table and chatted for a while. We didn't drink anymore which is a good thing. I did use the unisex restroom there which was pretty interesting. This was the first time both sexes used it at the same time. I had to go pee so bad, I didn't really care. I do remember thinking it was kind of odd going pee in the urinal and having girls walk in and out to use the toilet. Stuff that just doesn't happen in America.

We headed back to our barracks at some point after 0230 or so and I promptly got in bed and passed out.

The Monkey Beach...where they serve alcohol in buckets!

The bathroom at Monkey Beach complete with CCTV...
big brother likes to watch you pee

SPC Mick singing while our KATUSA searches for the next song...in our private room

Our "Resered" table at Seoul Pub in Itaewon

Sunday: I woke up with a sick feeling in my stomach and a raging headache. The stupid thing is that I know I should hydrate a lot more especially if I'm going to be drinking alcohol, but I didn't hardly have any water yesterday. I paid the price for it today. I took 3 Excedrin and drank some water. There was a UFC playing so I headed to Starbucks to get coffee and then took a taxi to PFC Pickle's room. Normally I walk there, but I thought I may throw up if I walked too far. I arrived and quickly grabbed the nearest chair in his room. I didn't move much from that chair for the entire UFC. I drank my coffee slowly and then also drank 2 liters of water before the UFC was over. I was hoping the water and the Advil I had in PFC Pickle's room would help. I finally lost the headache, but that sick stomach feeling never left. We headed out and caught a taxi to head to the USO, but found out that there was a demonstration going on and we couldn't get there. The taxi brought us back on post and didn't charge us anything. We wanted to go to the USO to purchase tickets for a Martial Arts Festival next weekend. Not sure what exactly it is, but it's something to do.

I headed back to my room and video chatted with my wife and kids, then did some schoolwork. I thought about taking a nap, but the schoolwork I had to do took too long. I then checked with PFC Pickle to see if he wanted to see "Super 8". I knew nothing about it, but saw it was playing at the theatre on post. We walked there and by this point my nausea was doing better, but I was still no where near 100%. We watched the movie, which was nothing what I expected…but it was good and entertaining. It basically centered around kids in a small town that uncover an alien. Kind of like a modern version of E.T., but with a huge freakin' alien that kills people instead of a cute little alien with a glowing finger.

By the time we headed back to our rooms I would say that I was feeling about 75%. Definitely much better, but it sure takes me a lot longer to recover than it used to. I never plan on drinking much when I go out, but I have to make sure I get some water in me if I ever even think I'll be drinking again.

Monday: I woke up about 0830 to my roommate coming into our room. Normally he leaves for the entire weekend, but for some reason he came back early. It's OK though because I was about to get up anyway. I got up and video chatted with my wife for a while. I feel 100% again! After video chatting with my wife I did schoolwork again.

I met up with PFC Pickle at the food court for lunch where we both ate foot long pulled pork subway sandwiches. For some reason we were both very hungry, but those sandwiches were very heavy. We both sat there for a bit feeling stuffed and bloated. I made a mental note to only order 6 inch sandwiches from now on.

We then headed over to the MWR at Moyer Rec Center and signed up for the Martial Arts Festival. Funny thing is that originally we were going to sign up at the USO and then found out that the MWR was offering a free trip…can't beat that! We then headed to "The Point" and worked out. After working out we sat in the hot tub for a while and relaxed. I love this place, it's going to be hard to go back to the normal gym after this.

We headed back to our rooms and I spent the rest of the day watching TV shows and doing SkillPorts. Back to the grind tomorrow….

Driving Miss Daisy - (Korea) Day 252

This was put in all the augmentee's packets. It shows all the "off limits" bars in Itaewon.
They shouldn't be in Itaewon anyway because we are not allowed to drink alcohol during
the entire exercise. (They keep an updated list on the USFK Yongsan Website)

Work call this morning was 0650 for me. I got a call last night before I went to sleep from Special K letting me know that we both had to show up early and meet our NCOIC and get all the vehicles ready for the upcoming exercise. I'm still trying to get used to the time difference, I can't seem to keep my eyes open past 2130 and I wake up at around 0430 each morning….Uggghh!

I was the first to arrive and opened up the office. I sat down at one of the computers and checked out my promotion points since it's Monday and I had to do something to pass the time. I currently have the following:

Military Education: 260 Max

Correspondence Course (Hours 864) (Points 172)

So I have 88 more points to go before I max out my Military Education portion of my promotion points. I then started poking around seeing what I can find out about PCSing to Germany. Slowly people started to arrive in the office. Our NCOIC and Special K arrived and we left shortly after to the TMP (where we sign out the vehicles). Once we arrived we had 8 vehicles (a mixture of SUVs and Vans) to check out. We had to perform a "PMCS" check on each of the vehicles before we could sign them out. PMCS (Preventative Maintenance Checks and Service) is basically a checklist that we perform to make sure everything works as it should on the vehicle (i.e. lights, signals, doors, etc). Unfortunately it was raining for the entire process, so it kind of sucked. It takes a while to do a decent job. One SUV had a rear tail light that didn't work, so we couldn't take it, and another was missing the warning triangle and lug nut wrench. This wasn't a deal breaker as the TMP said we could pick them up at the Dragon Hill Lodge car rental office.

We then proceeded to each drive a vehicle back to the office after gassing them up. The second time around we brought some guys from our protocol office to give us a hand. After that Special K and I headed to the Dragon Hill Lodge car rental office to pick up the previously mentioned items. By this time it was lunch, so I had Special K drop me off at my barracks. I then video chatted with my wife for a bit while eating. I don't talk a lot because I'm stuffing my face, but it's always nice to see her and hear her voice.

When I headed back my NCOIC and I took one of the SUVs and picked up one of the first augmentees that had arrived. An air force sergeant had been flown in from Hawaii to participate in the exercise. She was in "tent city" but there was a little confusion on if she would be staying there or another location. We picked her up and when she found out what she would be doing she said "They flew me all the way from Hawaii so I can be a driver?". LOL…sometimes the military does some funny things.

Speaking of funny things…we ended up driving this poor girl around the post stopping at a couple places, making phone calls only to drive her back to "tent city" and drop her back off. Tent City is a bunch of permanent tents that are setup for augmentees to stay in during exercises. They are similar to the tents that I stayed in during the "Capstone" FTX at the end of my AIT. Sleeping on a cot is not much fun. This particular sergeant said she was deployed and had a lot better accommodations than what she has here in tent city. I'm glad that during the exercise I just go to CP Tango for my shift and then come back to the comfort of my own room.

When we got back I was able to do a few SkillPorts, but nothing close to the amount that I normally get done on a Monday. Before too long I was called by my NCOIC. I had to create packets for the augmentees that were going to get briefed tomorrow. I had to print out a number of copies of all kinds of information including command policies, bus routes, a map of Yongsan Garrison and much more. Everything an augmentee needs to know while they are here for the exercise. It was a pain in the butt, because after I printed everything out, I had to staple a number of the items together before putting them all in the packet. After 1700 SPC Mick and our NCOIC came up to help me finish. We were able to get everything done a little before 1800, then we packed everything up and we took off for the day. Although I wasn't totally free…I am on call in case any augmentees come in and get lost. I have the keys to one of the SUVs and I will have to go down and pick them up, then take them to tent city.

By the time I got back to my room I was tired, parched and hungry. Needless to say I didn't go workout as planned. I had all intentions to, but when I work late it kind of throws everything off. It might be good to rest a bit anyway, my whole body is pretty sore from the workouts I've been doing the last three days. Hopefully tomorrow I'll get off on time.

I spent the rest of the night watching TV shows and doing a couple SkillPorts. 88 points left…and counting down!!

Weekend Wrap-Up - (Korea) Days 229-230

OK...I may be a little stupid, but I couldn't pass up this opportunity to
snap a quick picture on post.

Saturday: This weekend is a little messed up because of my CQ shift. I had plans to go to a "mud festival", but those had to be tossed. When I finished my shift at 0900, I took a shower and then went to sleep. I turned on my fan and put in my ear plugs. I slept until 1600, so most of the day was pretty much shot. I ended up going to the food court and eating lunch/dinner. I had plans of hanging out there a while with my laptop and using their internet to download a number of items, but the internet was down. I headed back to my room and watched some TV shows and doing SkillPorts between shows.

PFC Pickle called and wanted to meet up at the food court. I met him, but was still full from my big lunch…not too full to enjoy some ice cream though! We hung out for a bit, made some plans for Sunday and then went our separate ways. I went back to my room to do the usual…TV shows and SkillPorts.

Sunday: I woke up about 0830 and started laundry, then video chatted with my wife for a bit. After my laundry was done, I met up with PFC Pickle at the food court for lunch. After that we headed off to the National Museum of Korea. This is a huge building that we can see from post as it sits right on one of the edges of the south end of the Yongsan Garrison. We ended up taking a taxi to it because we weren't sure the best way to get to it. It was also extremely hot and humid out, so riding in an air conditioned taxi was a nice break from that.

The museum is free which is always nice, and it is huge! It had a number of pieces from early history in Korea. I found out that it is actually the 6th largest museum in the world in terms of floor space. It was pretty interesting checking everything out and when we finished there was a Korean folk dance performance going on. We checked that out for a bit before heading off to Itaewon. I had some shopping to do before I go on leave. We started walking, but because we weren't exactly sure how to get there and because of the heat we decided to hail a taxi.

Once in Itaewon I bought some souvenirs and we headed back to my room to drop it all off. We then grabbed some ice cream at the food court before heading to the theatre to see "Horrible Bosses". What a funny show!! I was laughing out loud and actually spit out my water at one point. It's a comedy about three friends who each hate their bosses and decide to kill them.

When I got back to my room I poured an entire bottle of Drano in my sink. It has never worked quite right since the "snake incident" a few weeks back. It randomly fills up with water and is always slow to drain. Every morning after I shave the sink will almost fill up and overflow. It then slowly drains away only to fill up and random points in the day. When this happens it brings back up the shavings from my face and then leaves them all over the sink. So it's been a pain in the butt to try and keep clean. After the "snake incident" I don't want to call building maintenance and have them try to fix it. The Drano seems to have done the job, I guess time will tell.

After another shower to wash away all the stickiness from the hot and humid day, I'll be going to sleep.

Hanging out at the National Museum of Korea

Me and Buddha at the National Museum of Korea

Me and Buddha at the National Museum of Korea

The Korean folk dancers at the National Museum of Korea

Weekend Wrap-Up - (Korea) Days 194 & 195

Our individual pies at Tartine in Itaewon...mmm mmm good!

Saturday: I woke up with a hangover at about 0930. I guess I shouldn't have mixed the makkoli and the beer. Or more likely I should have drank a lot more water throughout the night! Anyway I did my normal Saturday morning thing which is laundry and a long video chat with my wife which is always nice. I then did schoolwork and took a nap.

I woke up feeling better and was invited to go to the movies with our air force master sergeant and Ms. Q. We went to the theatre on post and watched X-Men: First Class. It was a pretty cool movie and both of them were as big of fans as I was, so it was a lot of fun. The movie shows where a lot of the story lines start and it was cool to see how they tied everything together. Also I learned that it was the mutants who were responsible for the Cuban missile crises!

We then went out to Itaewon and ate at a Chinese restaurant called "Panda King". The food was good and the place wasn't too expensive. We each ordered an item and then shared our plates. After that we had dessert at a place called Tartine which specializes in individual pies…I had mine with ice cream of course. After that we called it a night and headed back.

Sunday: I woke up at 0800 and video chatted with my wife for a bit before heading out. I stopped by and picked up Starbucks for me and PFC Pickle and headed over to his room to watch UFC 131. This has sort of become a tradition now anytime there is a UFC on. As usual it was a pretty good UFC. We headed to the food court after it was over and had lunch. I then had to get my haircut as it was getting a little long. I had promised PFC Pickle that I would watch X-Men with him, so we headed to the theatre and I watched it for the second time this weekend…lol. It was still good the second time around. We then went to the food court for dinner and parted ways. I did some schoolwork and then watched some TV shows before calling it a night.

Out on the Town - (Korea) Day 193

A 3 foot long egg role on the left and some awesome soup/stew

Work call was at 0745, why it was so early I'm not sure. We had a meeting at 0830 in our conference room, but we had already setup everything for it last night…all we had to do was turn the system on which takes all of 5 minutes (if that). Anyways we arrived turned everything on and once the meeting started we setup for another meeting in the top secret conference room. I went in my sergeant's office and he had me recite the soldier's creed as well as sing the army song. He then had me answer a few questions before turning me loose.

I tried watching the NBA finals game, but there were a number of interruptions. A call here and there, I'd have to go downstairs to see someone for something…very annoying…don't these guys know I have a basketball game to watch??

Our sergeant bought everyone lunch again at the KATUSA snack bar and after we left our KATUSA asked if anyone wanted ice cream. I said of course before anyone could say no, so he bought us all ice cream from the Korean PX. Special K and I then took the office car and ran a few errands. One of which was supposed to be washing the car, but the car wash was closed…grrrr. We picked up some frames for awards and then headed back to the office just in time to help clean up the meeting in the top secret conference room.

I then had to sign a sworn statement about what exactly I saw yesterday with our two officers and the altercation that happened. I actually didn't see much, but I guess CPT Hooah! got a negative counseling statement from it and he's not too happy. I know he doesn't like his job here and doesn't like how everything operates, but I don't think you can really fight the system. It's like banging your head against the wall.

I have been tasked with basically doing an inventory of all our computers as well as computers in various other offices. A lot of these places I have no idea where they are. Our deputy commander of our office found out he might be able to replace some computers out of a special budget if they are too old and if they are classified, so I have to go around and gather all the information. It's going to take a while, especially if these other offices are not organized.

We cleaned up and left after a quick safety briefing from our sergeant (don't drink and drive, use condoms…etc). I headed to my room and did my schoolwork. SPC Roy called and wanted to go out, so I met him at a gate and we took a taxi to Gangnam, a neighborhood in Seoul that I haven't seen yet. The place was pretty amazing with people all over the place and a number of restaurants and bars. We ate at an awesome restaurant and drank some makkoli (rice wine) because I told him I just can't do soju anymore since I wake up with headaches every time I drink the stuff.

We then headed to Itaewon and went to my favorite bar (The Rock 'n Roll Bar) to have a few beers and play some pool. Before too long SPC Roy wanted to leave and show me another bar he thought I would like. It's called "Woodstock" and he was right, they played good rock music and even had a stage for a live band. Unfortunately we left before the band started playing. We came across a sergeant from the command group and he joined us (I'll call him SGT Mex).

We all headed out to Sinchon which is another university district in Seoul which has a lot of nightlife. We went to SGT Mex's favorite bar called "Ho Bar II". It played a lot of hip hop music and techno music. I had a few beers and had fun watching SGT Mex try to pick up girls, but he got shot down every time. We finally left there and called it a night. I got back at around 0200. What sucks about coming back to the post after midnight is that most of the gates are closed and only the main gates are left open 24 hours a day, this means a lot more walking for me after the cab dropped me off.  I finally made it to my room and was asleep as soon as I hit my bed.

Just a normal night in Itaewon...lol

Weekend Wrap-Up (4-Day) - (Korea) Days 180-183

Looking up at part of Lotte World. There are a number of levels, the bottom has an
ice skating rink. On the very top there are "hot air balloons" where you can ride
around and see everything from the top down.

Saturday: I slept in until about 0900 and then did my weekly load of laundry and video chatted with my wife and kids. I also called my dad to make sure he was OK after all the tornadoes hit. I heard on the news that some touched down in Arkansas as well. He said the closest one was about 3 miles away from him and that everything has been fairly well for now. I also checked my LES and found that my separate rations finally went through. Paperwork that should have taken a week or two ended up taking 6 months. It also took me going back to the company on 4 separate occasions. Luckily I had backup copies of all the documents. I also sent numerous emails to the guy who I turned everything into the second time at our company. Finally I will not have money taken out of my check anymore, and I received back pay for the last 6 months. What a pain in the butt!!

I did some schoolwork until I got a call from the young hawaiian asking if I wanted to go to lunch at the KATUSA Snack Bar. We headed there and had a pretty good lunch (love that place…good food and it's cheap). We then walked to Itaewon and I did a little shopping. I was looking for souvenirs for family back home. I wish I had more cash, I could have spent a lot! There are so many odd shops and street vendors out selling pretty much everything you can think of and plenty of stuff you would never think of.

I then headed back to my room and started doing more homework. After a while SPC Roy came over and we went swimming. Unfortunately the hot tub was out of order, so it was only the pool with no relaxing ending. We then came back to the room to change and headed off to the Main Post Club here on post to eat dinner, have a few beers and play some pool. Pool wasn't cutting it and SPC Roy needed to scratch his ping pong itch. We headed over to the Moyer Rec Center and played ping pong for a while.

Once I got back to my room it was time for more schoolwork…will it ever end??? When I finished I watched "Bloodsport". It's a great old Jean-Claude Van Damme action movie that I hadn't seen in some time. It's about a guy who participates in the Kumite which is a full contact mixed martial arts tournament. (Kind of like an early version of the UFC, but with no rules). Ironically the bad guy in the movie is a South Korean. I also forgot the movie is based on the life story of an actual guy named Frank Dux. Pretty impressive!

The entrance to Itaewon. The place looks so different during the day!

A performance of dancers in Itaewon. I guess during the summer they
always have something going on here.

Sunday: I woke up around 0900 again and made a pit stop at Starbucks before heading to PFC Pickle's room to watch the UFC. So glad they play them for free here on AFN. It was a pretty good show with the main event of Rampage vs. Hamill. I've always been a Rampage fan after seeing him as a coach on The Ultimate Fighter. He cracks me up. He put on a good fight and beat up Hamill.

I headed back to my room and video chatted with my wife for a while before starting schoolwork once again. I then headed to the gym to work out. PFC Pickle and the young hawaiian met me there. We were going to play basketball, but they had setup the court for volleyball use…grrrrr. We decided to lift weights instead. While lifting weights a guy was in there who I in-processed with when I arrived here in Korea. He said he already found out where he'll be heading and ironically it's Ft. Lewis which is about 30 minutes from my hometown. I wonder when I'll find out where I'm going. I was told not to even ask until July 1st. I guess time will tell.

The young hawaiian wanted to go see The Hangover 2, so we all ate dinner and met up to head off post to the iPark Mall. Unfortunately when we arrived we found out it wasn't playing. I thought the young hawaiian had checked, but he just assumed it was playing. SPC Roy actually met up with us at the theatre and said "Plan B" was to go drink. So we headed to a nearby restaurant and ate some chicken and drank soju. We then headed to Itaewon only to find out my favorite bar (The Rock and Roll Bar) is closed on Sundays. We ended up in a very poor excuse of a bar called "Spy Basement". We were the only ones there and the waitress was very old, she couldn't get any of our drinks right. What's funny is two of us were only drinking beers. We played a few games of pool before heading to another bar where we had another couple of beers before calling it a night. PFC Pickle stayed the night in my room using my roommate's bed since he was gone for the weekend.

This is one bar in Itaewon that I do not want to visit...
although it may make for some interesting photos.

SPC Roy on the left and the young hawaiian on the right playing pool in "The Spy Basement"

Sometimes the bathrooms in Korea are fully functional, but they lack privacy.

Sometimes the bathrooms don't want you to put the toilet paper in the bowl...
then it gets a little stinky!

Monday: I woke up about 0830 and started to get ready. PFC Pickle and I then headed to the food court for lunch and headed our separate ways. SPC Roy rented a car and picked me up. We then headed to the office to pick up our KATUSA and SPC Mick who had to go in to turn everything on for a ROK meeting in our conference room. (This is the meeting that pissed me off a few days ago when I found out we had to come in on our days off…I get to go in tomorrow). We headed off to a theme park in the middle of Seoul called "Lotte World". The theme park is about half inside and half outside. It has a couple roller coasters, some water rides, some big drop rides as well as a number of other smaller rides. It kind of rips off Disney in a few areas…their main castle looks very similar to Disneyland's Cinderella Castle. All in all we had a good time. SPC Roy brought his young son and I helped him watch him which was fine because I had a bit of nausea. I believe this was caused by riding in the back seat on the way in (motion sickness), or too much soju last night. It was probably the combination of the two. I went on a few rides, but was happy just people watching and checking everything out…am I getting old??

When we left we headed to a Thai restaurant…that was until SPC Mick spotted a TGIF. I thought we should eat anything except American food while here, but SPC Mick was pretty excited about it. It turned out to be pretty good, and I was able to get some ice cream over a warm brownie so I can't complain. We then headed back and dropped off SPC Roy's baby. Once we were baby free we headed to have some more drinks. I actually didn't want to drink at all after last night, but I was out voted. We drank a huge pitcher of beer and or course there was more chicken ordered. (SPC Roy tells me Koreans do not drink unless they eat as well).

I got home late, but stayed up a while…..I had plenty of schoolwork waiting for me.

The trolly in Lotte World. Just like any other theme park, there are a number
of employees dressed up.

Looking down at part of the inside portion of Lotte World from the "hot air balloon " ride

Outside with me posing in front of the castle centerpiece.

Tuesday: I woke up around 0900 and video chatted with my wife. I was planning on going into work at 1000, but got a call from SPC Mick telling me I didn't need to go in until noon. I video chatted a while longer. It is my second anniversary today (well in the states, since I'm a day ahead it was actually yesterday for me). 2 anniversaries and I haven't seen my wife yet. I'm hoping the third time is a charm and I get to spend it with her.

I headed to work and opened the conference room up, then turned on the system. The meeting didn't actually start until 1300, so I actually sat around watching TV for an hour waiting for the ROKs to arrive. I could have come in around 1245 and had time to spare. Once they arrive and were good to go, I took off. I headed back to my room and had lunch while video chatting with my wife some more.

I headed to the PX and then to get a haircut, but the place was packed. Everyone decided they needed a haircut today. I left, I don't have time to sit around for that. The rest of the week they will always be at least one or two people just waiting to cut your hair as soon as you walk in the door. I headed back to my room and did some schoolwork.

SPC Roy came by and we went to the gym to play basketball. The gym was packed, so we decided to go to the bigger gym "Collier Field House". This gym is much bigger with the main court and side hoops as well. The only problem is that it's located across the post, so if I don't have a ride I never go there. We started shooting around and about a half hour later the young hawaiian came in with one of his co-workers. We ended up playing 2-on-2. They beat us pretty bad the first game. SPC Roy didn't want to play again, but I told him we needed to beat them! I got on fire and from then on it was over. I lit it up and there was nothing the young hawaiian could do to stop me. We beat them 11-2 (one point per basket). Of course we had to play one more game as a tie breaker and we beat them again pretty bad. It gave everyone a good workout and we left happy because we kicked some butt.

We celebrated by going to Pizza School and grabbing some pizza and eating in my room...an end to a pretty eventful weekend.

Bad Mood - (Korea) Day 149

A statue in front of the 8th army building. Not sure what he is pointing at

Work call this morning was at 0800. I don't mind 0800 or 0830 because it gives me time to get up early and video chat with my wife. When I arrived to the office we setup for a couple of KUB meetings. One in our conference room and one in the top secret conference room. This had us a little busy at first since they overlapped. We did a little planning yesterday before we left and setup as much as possible in our conference room.

After flipping slides for a while in our conference room I had SPC Mick take over and I went down to our office to get the car and take off to get my passport. When looking for the keys I found out that Special K was driving our colonel around, but would be back shortly. I updated the events calendar and then started looking for my beret. WTF? I couldn't find it anywhere and I can't go outside without it on. After looking around the office and going back and forth to the conference room control room I finally found it. Sometimes it can be hard to see things during conferences because we turn off the lights in the control room for better projection on the screens.

I headed out to the US Embassy on post with all the documents I needed. I had my photos, my money order, my application,  a copy of my birth certificate and copies of the court documents for my name change. When I arrived I was told that I can't use copies. I told them all of the original paperwork was in storage, they didn't really care so I left empty handed. Looks like I will not be traveling to any other country while I'm here other than the US. This really pissed me off to no end. I'm so tired of nothing ever seeming to work out. It seems every time I try and have any paperwork processed in the army, there is always roadblocks or the paperwork simply vanishes. I'm so sick and tired of it. This wasn't necessarily the army, but it is just the same as I've been dealing with since joining. I have no faith in any paperwork the army has in it's possession. Each soldier is encouraged to make an "I love me" book. This book is used by the soldier for the sole purpose of keeping originals and copies of every single important document that they ever come across in the army. This is done because all too often paperwork gets lost. It's pretty sad that is the case. Anyway, let's move on…

Me and Special K headed off to check out a framing shop located in Iteawon (which looks so different in the day). They are cheaper than the one we use on post, but they are slower as well. (Our office also puts together a number of awards and such and frames are always being ordered). In this case like most of the time the frames were needed right away. We ended up getting them from the arts and crafts store on post which would have them all ready tomorrow after lunch.

Speaking of lunch we met up with SPC Roy and ate at the food court. We got caught up on all the gossip and then headed back to work. We cleaned up the conference rooms, then I did a little SkillPort before watching a little NBA. We then got ready to head over to the 8th army building to setup for a conference there. Before we headed out CPT Hooah! looks at SPC Mick and states "you're going to get that fade before Monday right?". He was talking about getting the hair cut shorter on the sides and have it fade up to the longer hair. The first time he mentioned this I thought he was joking because like me SPC Mick shaves his head once a month. Currently it's still pretty short, but I guess not short enough for CPT Hooah!. That means I'm going to have to cut my hair every two weeks so he doesn't say anything to me. Just another annoyance to deal with.

We made it over to the conference room and had everything setup, then minutes before the meeting they want to move people around. Then they want to add people and remove others. WTF? We come over with pre-printed labels, it's not like I can shit one out for them. Sometimes people can be so stupid. We headed back and our sergeant gathered us all together go go over the schedule. I guess we are going to do some weapons training tomorrow to get ready for the range which is scheduled for next week. Also our PT test has been rescheduled for May 12th. That will be good because once I get both of those done, I can put in for leave.

After work I headed to my room and had some trail mix for dinner. I may be turning into a squirrel. I watched some TV shows and then logged on to do some schoolwork only to find out that my new class doesn't start until next week…cool I get a little vacation.

Itaewon in the day looks much different

In the 8th army building...You are not the exception!!

mom

The title of this one suits the writing. Sounds like you are getting just a little frustrating. Sorry, wish I could help. This one also was a pain copying. Had to copy and paste most of it and could not print any of the pictures except the top one of the statue. The top one always seems to print fine. love you

Thursday, April 28, 2011 - 02:10 AM

Brandon

So much for trying to be creative.

Thursday, April 28, 2011 - 10:04 PM

Weekend Wrap-Up (3-Day) - (Korea) Days 102 - 104

Screen Golfing - SPC Roy getting ready to tee off at "Pebble Beach"

Saturday: Woohoo we have a three day weekend! We get Monday off for a training holiday I guess because we just finished the exercise. I'm so looking forward to it. My first morning didn't start off as planned. At around 0630 I hear a banging on my door, so I get up to see who's there. Some guy asks if Jane (I think) is here. I look at him and say "mum….no". Since he was in civilian clothes I didn't know if he was an NCO or if was was just a private or else I may have told him to get the heck out of here and come back at a decent hour. Turns out he found the girl he was looking for which happened to be next door. I hear them yelling back and forth. Oh great…I guess I will not be sleeping in today. The guy left and came back a few times, finally I told the person on CQ to call the MPs if he comes back.

Since I was up I did some schoolwork and then video chatted with my wife. A little after noon SPC Roy came and picked me up. He was free for the night and wanted to go have some fun. We were going to go golfing, then changed it to the driving range, and finally decided on screen golf which is basically like a big interactive video game. I had never done anything like that before, it was actually pretty fun. They set you up in a room with a couch and table and the big screen in front. You use a real club and ball, but when you hit it into the screen it shows a virtual ball travel along the golf course. It was a lot of fun. We ordered some Chinese food and played 18 holes at Pebble Beach. We both are not very good…I was 40+ over par and SPC Roy was 50+ over par for the course.

We then drove around Seoul just checking everything out. SPC Roy had rented an SUV so he could drive his family and wife's friend around earlier, now he just wanted to chill away from the office. We must have listened to the Far East Movement's "Like A G6" a hundred times! For those of you who don't know the Far East Movement, they are a bunch of Asians that have had a couple of hits on the radio. I think SPC Roy is totally addicted to them. SPC Roy wanted to hit up a bar, so we went to The Rock n Roll bar in Iteawon (my favorite bar) and heard some good rock and roll to even out the night. We played some pool, some darts and had a few beers. We then headed off to SPC Roy's apartment where we watched "The Expendables" and ordered some chicken delivery. I ended up staying there on his couch for the night.

Sunday: I woke up with a bit of a headache. I'm not sure if it was the love seat I was sleeping on, or the lack of water from yesterday. We headed downstairs to the 7-11 where SPC Roy bought me some drink that was supposed to "help my liver". We drank one before the bar last night and he said it's good to drink the next day too. I'm not sure what it was, but it didn't taste bad. Unfortunately you can't purchase aspirin or any other drugs in Korea except at a pharmacy. That sucks! Guess I'll wait 'til I get back to my room before getting some aspirin. On our way out of 7-11 we heard a big BOOM!!! I looked up and saw a guy on a scooter had just ran smack into the side of a car. The wheel of the scooter flew off and was rolling down the road, the scooter driver himself did a few rolls as well. Holy Crap!!! I can't believe that just happened!! The scooter guy laid there for a bit, then kind of sat up and started rubbing his butt. The car driver got out and checked on him. SPC Roy and I ran out to the middle of the road and started directing traffic around the accident. The scooter driver stood up for a bit, but when he heard the ambulance coming, he promptly laid back down and stopped moving around. SPC Roy said Korean's are notorious for milking the system. They will stay in the hospital as long as possible for any reason. Once the cops arrived we took off and headed back up to his apartment.

SPC Roy gave me a ride back to my room and I was able to video chat with my wife and kids for a while which was nice. I later had to turn down the young hawaiian when he called and wanted to go out. I had to work on a paper for school. I got about half of it done before I heard a knock on my door. To my surprise it was SPC Roy again. He asked if I wanted to go anywhere…do I need a driver…anywhere you want. I laughed and told him my only plans were to go to the theatre and watch a movie later. He said he was down with that and we took off, he had to go to a Korean grocery store called Lotte Mart. The place was crazy, I would have taken some pictures…but I forgot my iPhone in my room. It was like black Friday but in the grocery store. I had people hitting me with their carts, their baskets, themselves…they navigated the store like they drive here in Korea…with seemingly no rules. There were workers giving out not only samples of food, but wine and beer as well. The place was a madhouse, and SPC Roy said it's like that every weekend! That was quite an experience.

We then went and watched Rango at the movie theatre. When we got there we saw a sign that said starting April 1st due to reduced funding they will start charging us to go to the movies. That really sucks! I think that was one of my favorite things about being stationed here. The movie was cute and had me laughing a few times. It's about a pet lizard that gets thrown from a car in the middle of the desert and how he survives. It has Johnny Depp doing the voice of the lizard. This is one of the movies that I would probably not go and see if I had to pay money for it, but because it was free we checked it out. I'm going to miss a lot of movies now.

I came back to my room and then finished my paper, that was it for the night.

Monday: I finally got to sleep in a bit on Monday. I was all out of sorts this weekend. I did my laundry while video chatting with my wife, but never got around to cleaning my room. I usually do a good cleaning each weekend, but I just never got around to it this weekend. When I finally thought about it I just didn't have the motivation. I did go work out for a bit, then it was back to doing some schoolwork which wore me out, so I took a nap…lol. I woke up and headed to the movie theatre once again and watched "The Fighter" with Marky Mark and his funky bunch. It was a pretty good flick, based on a true story. It's about a boxer late in his career with a crack addict brother and a pretty crazy family. He has to deal with all of that and try to make his final run in his career. Fun to watch, but this time I was all alone. It's just not the same going to the movies alone. Sometimes when I slow down and start thinking about my wife, my kids, my friends and family it gets really lonely. I try to keep busy and hope the time will pass fast.

A quick video I made to show those who don't know how screen golf works.