Weekend Wrap-Up (4-Day) - (Korea) Days 360-363

I'm finally together with my wife once again!!

Thursday: we woke up about 0800, but didn't get out of bed until 0830. Headed to get some coffee at Starbucks and then started getting ready for the day. It's so nice having my wife here with me. I'm loving every minute of it. We met up with SPC Mick, PV2 Charlie, and our new KATUSA. The army major in our office invited everyone over to his house on post for a nice Thanksgiving day meal. Our NCOIC showed up as well as the other officers in our office...and even our old KATUSA. It was an awesome meal and the generosity of of the army major was much appreciated. Everyone enjoyed themselves and everyone left extremely full.

We took the post shuttle back to The Dragon Hill and ended up just relaxing for the rest of the day in the room.

Friday: We woke up and headed downstairs and had the breakfast buffet. We then headed off to catch the bus for the "Black Friday" tour I signed us up for. We headed out to Osan for a day of shopping right outside of Osan Air Force Base. The shopping there is amazing with a number of small shops and businesses selling everything you can imagine. My wife had a great time looking through all the shops. We ate lunch at a Brazilian grill, which was just great. It was an all you can eat meat fest! The servers kept coming to our table with various barbecued meat and kept piling it on our plates. We left extremely full!

The tour was scheduled from 1000 to 1700, but we ended up getting back at around 1800. We ended up just relaxing in our room after that.

Saturday: We ate breakfast in the buffet at the hotel, then went to The Point and worked out. If that wasn't enough we then hiked up to Seoul Tower. Seoul Tower is a tourist attraction for lovers, so I came prepared with a padlock complete with our names and date written on it to lock on the fence at the top. The fence is loaded with a ton of "locks of love" which we attached ours to and then threw the keys over the edge to symbolize how we will always be in love. Kind of corny, but it was sweet and I think I scored some points with my wife :)

We hiked back down and met up with the young hawaiian for dinner at a local Korean restaurant he liked. The food was delicious and we sat for what seemed like hours just chatting about everything. I'm going to miss him and a lot of others here that have kept me sane during all this time away from my friends and family.

We took the stairs up to Seoul Tower...that's a lot of stairs!!

Sunday: We had the breakfast buffet once again in the hotel, then we walked to my barracks so I could show my wife where I used to live. We visited PV2 Charlie so she could see an actual room. Even though it was well after noon, we still woke him up when knocking on his door…lol. Ooops! We then took the subway to Myeong-dong which is yet another shopping area in Korea. I wanted to make sure my wife experienced riding on the subway in Korea. I also wanted her to experience Myeong-dong which is a little overwhelming. It's basically an outdoor mall with just a ton of stores and street vendors. There are characters dressed up walking around and the streets are full of people. The trip was a success and my wife also has a new wardrobe!

We then headed back to The Dragon Hill and headed to the hot tub. Our muscles were sore and we were tired from all the walking and hiking we've been doing. We've walked all over since first arriving on post, so the hot tub felt great! We then ate dinner at Bentley's which is a little pub in The Dragon Hill Lodge and always has some sort of special going on each night. Tonight's special was 3 pulled pork sliders (mini-sandwiches) for only 99 cents. You just can't beat that! I would recommend anyone that has to stay in Yongsan to check out the nightly specials there, I found out about them a little too late or else I think I would have been there every night for the last year!

Looking down at one of the intersections in Myeong-dong

Eating a big ice cream cone from a vendor in Myeong-dong

Weekend Wrap-Up (4-Day) - (Korea) Days 313 - 316

On the way up to Seoul Tower...me with a view of the city behind

Saturday: Woke up around 1000 and did my normal Saturday routine of laundry and video chatting with my wife. This weekend is a four day weekend, so I'm looking forward to relaxing and sleeping in each day. I ate lunch in my room and then met up with PV2 Charlie and PFC Pickle to hike up to Seoul Tower. PV2 Charlie hasn't left the post yet and wanted to visit the tower, so I figured I would count that as my cardio for the day.

Once we got back we split up and I met up with the young hawaiian to watch some fireworks. I'm not sure what the occasion was (either fall harvest season or the birth of the Korean nation), but there was supposed to be a big fireworks show along the river. The young hawaiian knew the park to go to and we boarded the subway and headed there. Once we made a transfer to another subway line the crowd started to gather. It was bigger than the crowd at the Linkin Park concert that boarded the subway earlier this year…and I thought that was a lot of people! There were a number of police everywhere for crowd control. It started to sink in that this was a big deal. The subway train arrived and people started to board, but they all couldn't fit and the doors would not shut, this is when the police got involved and forced the ones keeping the doors open to exit the train.

The next train came and the young hawaiian and I made it on…just barely. The subway train was so full! I've been in full subways here before, but this was unlike anything I've experienced yet. I couldn't move my arms…it was similar to being in a rock concert in the general admission section close to the stage. Just so many people squished into one place. It was pretty crazy!

A few stops later everyone departed the subway and we just followed the crowd. The streets were full of people. When I say full of people, I mean there were more people than I've ever seen in one place before…ever. In every direction I looked there were just crowds and crowds of people walking down the streets. When we made our way to the riverside park, the scene was more of the same…people everywhere you looked. We stood and watched the fireworks, which was a pretty impressive show for a little over an hour and then decided to head back. We weren't sure how long the show was going to last, but after a while it was all pretty similar stuff. We headed back and the crowd was still large, but not nearly as bad as when we came…..what an experience.

PFC Pickle, Me, and PV2 Charlie at Seoul Tower

A view down one of the streets full of people during the fireworks show

Some of the fireworks at the park on Hahn River

Sunday: The morning consisted of watching UFC 136 in the young hawaiian's room. His roommate is TDY until at least January, so he rearranged all his furniture. He now has quite the setup and it's all his room for a long time. He moved all the furniture to the outside walls and joined the two beds to make one big bed. He has a big screen TV in the middle which made a great setup for the show…which was great as always.

We then headed to Walker Hill's Paradise Casino and did the poker tournament. I have come to the conclusion that I'm not a very good poker player. I'm glad it's a free tournament. Granted I didn't get any good hands, but I lost pretty quick…it took the young hawaiian a bit longer, but he eventually lost as well. He came in about 18th place, while I was more like 50th or so. Unfortunately you have to be in the top 5 in order to win the 100,000 Won.

We headed back and got to our rooms about 1830. I watched TV shows (CSI, Falling Skies, & Survivor). Falling Skies is a new show (for me). I saw that it had Noah Wyle in it, whom I always liked in the show ER. The executive producer is also Seven Spielberg...plus it's about aliens invading earth, so I had to check it out. We'll see how it progresses.

Monday: I slept in until 1000 and video chatted with my wife for a while. The day was a pretty chill day consisting of watching TV shows, going to lunch with SPC Roy and then watching some more TV shows. I then then went to dinner with PFC Pickle and followed that up with even more TV shows. Not a lot to report on except it was a nice relaxing day.

Tuesday: I slept in until about 1000 again and video chatted with my wife for a while. I then cleaned up my room a bit, I'll save the more extensive cleaning until next weekend. I met up with the young hawaiian and we took the subway to Myeongdong. This is a shopping district that is pretty cool. There is a lot going on everywhere you look and they have a number of shops to check out. The young hawaiian wanted to do a little shopping, then we stopped and had lunch.

SPC Roy ended up calling and wondered what I was up to. He actually lives close by Myeongdong, so he ended up meeting up with us after a bit. We did a little more shopping and then had dinner together. We ate at one of SPC Roy's favorite spots and had makkoli (rice wine) with dinner. I enjoy drinking makkoli so much more than soju.

We then headed to a bar and had a couple beers. We discussed the current events with the US military and the couple of rapes that have happened. SPC Roy said the Korean news has been reporting about it a lot. What the news states though is that these guys were investigated and then the military just came in and took them away. SPC Roy said his family (all Korean) have been asking him what is going on. To the Korean's it looks like we're just taking these guys and protecting them from the Korean justice system. The news doesn't report on the trouble they are getting in with the military and the jail time they will be serving. Instead it just looks like they are being protected by the military. So of course there are a lot of Koreans that aren't too happy with the US military in Korea at the moment.

We called it a night early since it's a work night and headed back to post. The end of a nice 4-day weekend!!

Eye Check - (Korea) Day 197

The Garrison Flags up for the change of command ceremony. There was just never
a big enough gust of wind to get all three flags up at once.
(South Korea, United Nations, & of course the U.S. flags)

We had PT this morning at 0545 and hiked to Seoul Tower with our body armor and assault packs on. It seems like every time we go up we find another way to get there. This time we actually hiked up trails instead of using any paved or padded paths. It was a lot quicker, but it was also a lot tougher…a good workout! On the way back our sergeant bought us all a kimbap for breakfast.

Everyone had work call at 0830 except for me, I had an appointment to see the optometrist at 0815. When I arrived I only had a short wait and then a KATUSA did the initial exam on me. An LTC then took me back to his room and did a more thorough exam. I guess the machine the KATUSA used wasn't very accurate for me. It also turns out the exam I received in basic ended up giving me a prescription that was a little too strong for me. The LTC did an exam the old fashioned way and was a very nice guy. I got my prescription and ordered my glasses which should arrive in 4 or 5 days. The frames they had were decent and I was extremely happy with the service. I didn't know what to expect because I think with military health care it can be hit or miss. So far every time I've done anything it's been in a TRADOC environment and it hasn't been a very good experience.

I arrived back to the office shortly before a change of command ceremony was about to start, so Special K and I hung out at the entrance to stop any cars that tried to get in during the ceremony. (Just one of my many side jobs here…directing traffic). I then headed up to my computer and worked on SkillPorts until lunch.

Lunch was in my room and I was able to video chat with my wife. It's always nice to see her and chat. I really can't wait to go back on leave! I headed back to the office and did a little IMO work. I setup our new NCOIC with her new computer. Mapped our shared drive for her and gave her permissions to access it. I also did the inventory for our supply office. I had planned on doing our protocol office as well, but supply took longer than expected. I'll try protocol tomorrow. I then had to figure out the procedure to wipe a blackberry for our new colonel that is coming soon. It turns out he pretty much has to be here in order to do much, so I guess I'll be doing that next week.

I worked on SkillPorts a little before calling it a day. I only finished 3 or 4 today, but that does put me over the "10+" limit that we now have each week. I turned on the TV and watched MTV Hits. This is kind of unique with AFN I believe. They actually play a segment for an hour or so of just music videos from MTV. There are no stupid "VJs" or cutting off videos before they finish, just a few videos with some normal commercials, the way MTV used to be back in the day when they actually played music.

We then cleaned up and took off for the day. I headed to the PX to pick up some last minute stuff to mail. I then headed to my room and relaxed. I take Tuesday off from school and just watched TV shows and one movie…."Bloodsport 3". This is a total B movie…maybe even a B- because the story line is just so bad. It has the same actor as in Bloodsport 2, but the acting seems to be even worse with everyone. The Kumite does take place and the fighting scenes are OK, but it seemed as even these were not as good. The basic storyline is that the main character's teacher gets killed by the host of the Kumite, so to get revenge the main character trains and wins it. I really wouldn't waste your time watching this one unless you are a diehard bloodsport fan.

Bringing Up The Rear - (Korea) Day 148

The hike down from Seoul Tower this time of year is not too bad...lots of trees
in bloom. (Our KATUSA, our sergeant, SPC Mick, and the LT leading the way)

We had to meet for PT this morning at 0535 in front of the office. As my little sister would say…"That is the butt crack of dawn". We had to wear our full body armor with plates as well as an assault pack which I had packed with 4 liters of water. We headed off to Seoul Tower once again with the normal crew from our office as well as an LT from some other office…I'm not sure where. The pace was much quicker than previous hikes and we soon started to break into two different groups with me and my sergeant bringing up the rear. We made it to the top and rested a bit, then proceeded to head back down. Keeping up with everyone on the trip down was no problem…lol. It was a great workout, I could feel every muscle in my body all worn out. In fact my legs felt like jello pretty much the rest of the day.

At the end of the hike our sergeant bought everyone breakfast at a local Korean store. We all had "kimbop". It's a popular Korean food made from steamed white rice and various other ingredients such as meat & radish all rolled up in seaweed. It is then cut up into bite size pieces. We each received two of them. Since we had a meeting, we took them to go and headed off to shower and get ready for work. We setup a meeting in our conference room and then I had a chance to sit down and eat my breakfast. It may sound a little strange, but it's actually pretty good.

I spent the rest of the morning working on SkillPorts and then headed out for lunch in my room. I was able to video chat with my wife for a bit before heading back to work to do some more SkillPorts. We then setup for a ceremony which is usually a pretty easy thing, but this time it turned into a mess. An air force general was the host and we didn't have a flag for him…or at least we didn't have one on a pole ready to go. We contacted the honor guard to have them get one for us and they were taking forever. The brass started to get nervous and freak out a bit. I had to go check with the honor guard once again to get the status on the flag, CPT Hooah! got on the phone and used his rank to try and persuade them to move faster. All this time the deadline of the meeting is getting closer and closer. The air force brass at this point are sweating bullets wondering what's going to happen without their general's flag in the front. During all of this Special K was in the back with some duct tape and the flag we did have. He was able to rig up the flag redneck style and it worked. We got it up with about 5 or 10 minutes to spare. Then came the honor guard a couple of minutes before the general was about to walk in with the flag. After all the harassing they got about getting it, they were then told we don't need it anymore. LOL. I know that corporal was pissed, but they were just too slow.

We then were told that the company decided to move the PT test to tomorrow instead of Thursday. Since we just did the big hike today, our sergeant said we will not be doing it. We'll now be doing it sometime in May. I later told him that I'm trying to go home and I need to get this done. He said he would try and get a special PT test so we can do it a bit earlier. We'll see how that goes.

We then cleaned up and left the office. I headed over to the PX to get some supplies for my TV (cable and a power strip). I then headed to the food court for dinner and some downloading. As I was sitting there a guy in my barracks sat down and started talking with me. He's leaving at the start of June and is starting to wrap things up here. He was actually SPC Short's roommate when he first arrived here in Korea. Turns out he has a German wife and he knows a bit of German. So we had a little conversation in German. We then headed back to the barracks and he let me go through his DVD collection to borrow before he leaves.

When I got back to my room I tried to hook up my TV, but to my despair I found out that the TV was purchased here in Korea. They use a different plug in here in Korea (except on post of course), so I was unable to get it all hooked up. I now have to see if it's worth getting the necessary equipment to make this work. Grrrr.

Overheard Quote: "I tell my wife I don't mind if her ass knocks the lamp of the table" (SPC Short's old roommate stated this after talking about how he doesn't care if his wife gets big and fat)

A photo of my Kimbap, I ate two of these logs for breakfast today.
Good stuff...and healthy too!

SPC Mick doing some push-ups because a letter he received had
stickers all over it. (I may have mentioned that we had to do
a number of push-ups in basic for every sticker that was on a piece of mail...lol)

Hiking PT Part Deux - (Korea) Day 127

A snapshot from RunKeeper showing the path we hiked down from 
Seoul Tower to our office on post.

Work call this morning was at 0630, not because of any meeting but because of some mandatory EO training we had to attend. Me and SPC Mick arrived at the office at 0630, picked up the office car as well as SPC Roy who just arrived in the parking lot. We drove to the movie theatre on post which doubles as the training center during the day for any training events. We watched some PowerPoint slides and learned all about "POSH" (Prevention of Sexual Harassment). The army is obsessed with acronyms, they use them for everything it seems. Half the time when I'm updating the events calendar, I have no idea what its for because all the titles are only acronyms. The training lasted only an hour, but was scheduled for two…so we were let out early. The best news I saw while I was at the theatre had nothing to do with sexual harassment though, I saw that they pushed back the free movies for a month. This means we get free movies through the month of April…that is good news.

When we arrived back at the office we had to setup for another meeting. Speaking of acronyms…this one was DADT. I had no idea until today it was for the removal of the "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy that has been in effect. I guess we can ask now...and people can tell. This particular meeting was for the air force, I'm sure the army version will be coming soon.

After setting up for another meeting in another conference room I had a little free time to finish one SkillPort. I then went to lunch with SPC Roy and had Burger King of all things. I usually don't eat there, but a hamburger just sounded so good. Sometimes you just have to indulge. I ended up getting the burger, but I refrained from getting a milkshake…which took a lot of willpower.

When we got back I was asked to help bring back the new computers from being imaged. I was also asked to stay and help out so we can get them all setup. All of a sudden I get a call…it's an emergency. What's the emergency? They need my help to clean up from one of the meetings. This has to be one of the most frustrating parts of my job here. They give me a lot of lip service about having me help out doing anything computer related (i.e. 25B work), but there never seems to be any time for me to do so. After we finished cleaning up for the meeting we ended up leaving the office to change for another hike today. We started to run some other errands, but were called back to work to change some audio visual settings in our conference room for another meeting that was scheduled at the last second.

Once we finished with all that we headed out for the hike. This time we left with a KATUSA from some other office, a sergeant I had never seen before, our sergeant, SPC Roy, SPC Mick, and myself. It seems there are many ways to get up the hill to Seoul Tower and we took a different route up and a different route down than yesterday. I found out when we were at the top that my iPhone app “RunKeeper” actually works without my cell phone service on. I didn't think the GPS worked, but low and behold it does. So I was able to use it to track our decent. It took longer than normal because of a smoke break and a bathroom break for the unknown sergeant, but it was kind of neat to see the path on a map.

After the hike it was about 1730 and I headed back to my room. I was able to do what has become my nightly ritual…schoolwork, then watch a movie. Tonight's movie was Rambo 4…the last installment of the Rambo series. I had actually seen this when it came out on video, but I had to watch it again. There is lots of action, it starts off showing the brutal actions of government soldiers in a civil war in Burma. The scenes are very graphic and instead of just blood and guts you actually see people explode. Rambo is living in neighboring Thailand and ends up rescuing some aid workers who get kidnapped in Burma. Lots of heads and other body parts get blown off in the process. After the rescue he ends up going home and visiting his father for the first time in years…maybe since the Vietnam war.

The RunKeeper App mentioned above can be downloaded here

Brandon

I noticed on the picture above it states the climb was only 91 feet. I'm not sure how it grabbed that information, but it's way off. I had to do some research to find out how high it actually is. Seoul Tower sits atop Mt Namsan which is 243-meters high, which is about 797 feet. Much more than 91 feet and a lot of it is at a steep grade, so it is a pretty good workout...but not unbearable. I would suggest anyone who happens to find themselves visiting in Seoul to do the hike.

Wednesday, April 6, 2011 - 08:51 PM

Hiking PT - (Korea) Day 126

A stairway we climbed on part of our hike up to Seoul Tower

Work call this morning was at 0650. We met at the office in civilian PT clothes along with our assault pack filled with whatever we could stick in it. Our sergeant said he wanted at least 20 pounds in it. This morning our PT was going to be a hike up to Seoul Tower from our office. We were all there except for our new guy SPC Mick. Our sergeant asked where he was and Special K gave him a call. SPC Mick says "I knew we were hiking up to Seoul Tower today, but I didn't know when". OMG! …and he didn't think to ask. Our sergeant told him just to get ready and go to the office. I sure hope we all don't get "corrective training" for this.

No worries…we headed out, our sergeant, SPC Roy, Special K, two sergeants from the command group, and myself. We started off on the streets of Seoul once we were off post, and it was all pretty much uphill from the start. Once we arrived at what I guess is the base of the main hill, the city kind of stopped and it was just a main road and a number of trails. We picked a trail which led to what looked like a never ending staircase. After the top of the staircase we took the road the rest of the way up. Once we got to the top we rested for a bit, took in the sights and then headed back down. The view would be much better if there wasn't any smog around. We headed back down a different trail, and when I say trail, that is exactly what it was. There were moments I thought I may start sliding down the hill, but luckily nobody fell or got hurt. It was good exercise and it was nice to do something a little different for PT. The whole hike took almost two hours including the break at the top.

After we got back me, Special K and SPC Roy headed to the Dragon Hill Lodge to grab some breakfast. After some breakfast and coffee I headed back to my room to shower and change into my uniform, then headed to work. There were no meetings scheduled for today, so I updated the events calendar and checked my email. I then worked on some SkillPorts and was able to finish 2 of them before I was told we could clean up and leave early….nice!

I went to my barracks and started schoolwork. When I finished schoolwork for the night I decided to watch Rambo 3. I was surprised, but I had never seen this one before! Interestingly it takes place in Afghanistan during the time when the Russians were fighting there. Kind of interesting how things change and now we're the ones fighting there in real life. The movie has Rambo going in and rescuing his old commanding officer and friend Colonel Trautman. Rambo ends up rescuing the colonel and helping the rebels defeat the Russians. Now I know what turned the tide of the Russian war in Afghanistan :). It was your typical action movie with lots of things blowing up, guns firing and blood spurting.

I found out I have an early work call tomorrow for some mandatory EO training, doesn't sound like that much fun.

The Day I Almost Died - (Korea) Day 85

A random photo I took near my barracks of Seoul Tower to show its proximity to us

Work call this morning was at 0645. Not extremely early, but still almost 2 hours before normal. We had to setup for a huge meeting in the secret conference room. Every seat was assigned, so others that wanted to attend had to view from an overflow room. I couldn't believe how many generals were in there. It looked like they grabbed every general from across the country and had them come to this meeting. I had to show colonels and other brass where the overflow room was because there just wasn't enough room for them. I was the designated "door holder" for this meeting, so after it was all setup I had to stand at the door (which normally requires a code) and hold it open. This is so the brass can get to the meeting in a more efficient manor.

Our next mission was to show the augmentees how to wash their vans. They were each paired up and assigned to a van. We then made a caravan of all ten vans and drove to the TMP where there is a mini car wash. Pretty simple, but coordinating this and getting everyone there and through the car wash took forever. It was lunch time by the time we finished and we headed back to the office. Once there the decision was made to eat out at K-16 (near Tango) because we had copiers being delivered for the exercise that we had to meet up with.

I knew I needed some experience getting to Tango so I volunteered to drive a van. I figured if I'm driving there, I'll remember how to get there. For this mission we only took 6 vans. SPC Roy was driving the lead van with 2 augmentee driven vans following him. I was driving the next van with 2 more augmentee vans following me. Everything started off so smooth I thought it was going to be easy sailing. LOL!!!

Special K was my TC giving me directions since he's had plenty of experience with this. We headed out into the real traffic of Korea which sucks anyway, but as I drove I had to make sure both vans were behind me. We did fine until almost the very end. As we were in the bus lane Special K told me to start making my way over to the right lane which I did. I would move over one lane and wait until the two vans behind me were able to follow. Then I would repeat the process. When I was in the second lane from the right Special K said "There it is, there it is, take it, take it!!!" (The exit is unmarked and looks like a driveway which you have to take from the why) I checked my mirror and didn't see anything…little did I know there was an entire bus in my blind spot. I swerved over and was able to make the exit. I heard a bus honking it's horn wildly and heard later that we came very close to being hit. The second van behind me was unable to make the exit (because there was a huge bus in their way). The third van did make it. When we got off I pulled over in disbelief of what just happened. Oh Crap! I just lost a van in my caravan! We didn't even have communications with them. All of them are augmentees that have never even driven in Korea and don't even know where Tango is. To add to it, this highway didn't have many exits off of it.

We had to call SPC Roy and see if anyone had the cell phone numbers of the folks in van #2. (Part of mission prep should have been to get all this information before hand). We met up with everyone at K-16 and let everybody get something to eat while we tried to figure out where van #2 was. SPC Roy was able to call them and told them to stop somewhere and "grab a Korean and give them the phone". They did this and SPC Roy was able to ask the guy where he was, so we could go find them. I left with him in a van and we found them about 1/2 hour later. We then had them follow us back to K-16. Once everyone was back together we headed out to Tango so the augmentees could see the place and see where and how to drive and park the vans. The sergeant pulled me aside and had a little talk with me, then I had to stand next to him pretty much for the rest of the day. I think this was to mention me anytime he talked about driving and safety. (I think there is a reason I chose my MOS as 25B and not a driver).

So I almost had a heart attack today, almost got me and my passengers killed, and wasted half a day with a search and rescue mission. The good news is nobody got hurt and it all turned out OK. I don't even know if I'll get in more trouble or not. I guess we'll see. I'm just glad this wasn't Afghanistan or someplace like that, a van that loses it's caravan could have deadly consequences. I felt like crap pretty much the rest of the day, which turned out to be another long one. I didn't get back to my room until 1900 again, which means no video chatting…just time for schoolwork and checking email/Facebook.

Even if I wanted to drink I can't. During the exercise there is no drinking allowed by any of the soldiers on post. I hear there are MPs out in Itaewon just looking for soldiers to bust. No worries…I don't plan on drinking, just sleeping when I get the chance.

Overheard Quote: "Hell, when I was 28 I was doing things I can't repeat!" (An air force sergeant in our van on the way to the TMP when he found out how old SPC Roy is and that he's already married with a kid).

the wife

The fact that you volunteer to drive - makes me proud of you. Especially knowing how driving can cause you 'drivers anxiety' in unfamiliar places.

Keeping my fingers cross that we'll talk / see each other tonight.

<3

Thursday, February 24, 2011 - 01:29 AM

mom

Im with the wife on this one, very proud you stepped up and drove. What happened could have happened to anyone, blind spots are the pitts. All turned out well and it sounds like you did pretty good.

Friday, February 25, 2011 - 07:10 AM

Weekend Wrap-Up (4-Day) - (Korea) Days 80-83

A photo from the observation floor of The Seoul Tower

Friday: Today turned out to be a day of recovery. I had way too much soju last night with SPC Roy. I woke up and knew right away that it was going to be a rough day. My stomach wasn't feeling good and I had a major headache. When I stood up I was even a little dizzy. I had to call and cancel with the master sergeant in our office. We had planned to go to Osan for some shopping, but there was no way I was going to be able to do that today. All I did was get a lot more sleep and then do some school work before doing my taxes finally. I then was able to video chat with my wife for a while before finishing up the night watching some TV shows. I didn't even go outside all day.

Saturday: I started off the day with my laundry and then went to the gym for a good workout. PV2 Pickle wanted to go out and do something this weekend so we headed up to Seoul Tower. It's an observation tower that overlooks the city of Seoul. The tower is 777 feet tall which is a bit taller than the Space Needle of Seattle which is where I'm from (605 ft). I have to say the The Space Needle offers a better experience because you can go outside. The Seoul Tower only lets you view from behind glass, but it's still an awesome view. It also has the best urinals I've ever had the chance to use. While you are relieving yourself you can still take in the view of the city! Check out The Seoul Tower website here.

We were planning on heading back to watch a movie on the base, but PV2 Pickle wanted to have a drink or two. So we headed to Itaewon via taxi. We were waiting for a bus to come, but after waiting for about 10 minutes in the cold a taxi came up and as the people got out, we jumped in. PV2 was craving McDonalds for some reason, so we made that our first stop. The McDonalds here offers some items on the menu that the states don't have. I tried a bacon tomato sandwich which is basically a Big Mac with a tomato and bacon added. They also have some very tasty spicy chicken and spicy beef wraps. We then took off to what I think is my favorite bar so far. It's called The Rock and Roll bar. I've been there before and just enjoy the music. The play music videos of 80's and 90's rock. It's a pretty small place and usually isn't very full. Plus they have free pool.

Not too long after we sat down two "juicy girls" sat down with us. I may have explained what a juicy girl is, but this was our first interaction with them. In reception we were warned about them and PV2 Pickle knew these two were juicy girls (more about that in a minute). First let me tell you in a little more detail what a juicy girl is. They work for the bar, they get friendly with the customers and get them to buy them drinks. Their "drinks" are supposed to be rum & coke or gin & tonic, but they are basically just soda with very little to no alcohol in them. So you will never be able to drink them under the table. They come and sit with you and make conversation and each time they finish their drinks and you finish yours, they will ask if they can have another. They serve the drinks and it continues…a vicious cycle. PV2 was smitten with the juicy girl that was talking to him. We all played pool and drank. The young hawaiian showed up with his roommate eventually and we all played some more pool. PV2 was able to get a kiss here and there along with some roaming hands with his juicy girl. At this point he was buying drinks for her non stop. I didn't realize how much until he got his bill. $600!!!!! OMG!!!! OMFG!!!!! He paid it with a credit card and it took me a while to talk him into leaving. He didn't want to let his juicy girl go, but I wasn't going to let him spend any more money there. So listen to me right now…if you are going to Korea, do not buy juicy girls drinks…it's a waste of money!!!!

PV2 wanted McDonalds again, so we headed there on the way back to post. We were all sitting down eating and then a bunch of American soldiers came in. It's a little after 2 AM and these guys are drunk and loud. They are the kind of guys that embarrass America. Here we are in a foreign country and these guys are being so loud, obnoxious and rude. We finished up and left. We went across the street to try and hail a cab, PV2 Pickle didn't feel like he could walk all the way to the post. During this time the unruly soldiers came out and kicked a taxi cab, then started yelling at the driver. We just walked off towards post, I didn't want any part of that. (looking back I should have recorded it, just to show how stupid these guys were and how they make us all look bad) A few minutes later we heard the MPs coming. The young hawaiian and his roommate went back to watch, but I had to help PV2 get back to his room so we kept going. I heard later that there was a fight in a different part of Itaewon where a guy broke his jaw and there was even a sergeant involved. It involved soldiers from the young hawaiian's barracks. When we got back to my room I just let PV2 sleep on my roommates bed, I didn't think he could make it back to his room which is another quarter mile away.

The urinals inside The Seoul Tower...

the greatest view I've ever had while going pee!

The Seoul Tower at dusk with it's lights on

Sunday: We both woke up around 11AM and PV2 Pickle had a pretty bad hangover. I didn't realize he drank so much, I'm a bad battle buddy. I had about 5 beers, but over a long amount of time. I felt fine, but he was feeling like I was on Friday…LOL. He headed home and I headed over to the other barracks because I thought the UFC fight was on. I found out when I got there that it's next weekend and not this one….Do'h!

So I came back to my room and did some schoolwork as well as studied a bit for my Apple re-certification exam. I then worked out at the gym and watched some TV shows and chatted with my wife. The whole day was pretty laid back, I did a little shopping at the PX for some basic supplies and then for dinner went with the young hawaiian off post to the Pizza School restaurant. Pretty good pizza and it's cheap. We tried a Mexican pizza which was not only good, it only cost $11 for it and two drinks.

Back in my room I think a girl down the hall broke up with her boyfriend. He was outside her door going nuts. He started screaming and then crying and then screaming again. I had my headphones in and could still hear it. He finally left, that is more drama than we've ever had since I've been in these barracks. I think I'm gonna watch some TV shows now.

FS SPC MILLER

We have juicy girls in Cocoa Beach FL. But they are strippers. So....thanks for the heads up.

Tuesday, February 22, 2011 - 06:05 AM

Brandon

Yeah...the juicy girls here don't strip or anything like that, but will still get their prey to spend a whole lot of money on them. They are more like mega flirts. Some will let you get to first or second base, but that is it. I would advise everyone to stay away from them and save your money.

(Looks like after an upgrade to iWeb and I'm guessing some upgrades or modifications on the mobileme backend comments are now working again!)

Tuesday, February 22, 2011 - 09:38 PM

What is a KATUSA? - (Korea) Day 10

A photo I took of Seoul Tower from my barracks

Woke up this morning and planned on doing some cardio for my workout. I went to the gym which is right across the street from my barracks pretty much. This was the first time I've been in it, so of course I had to input all my info into the little machine at the door before I could go in. Once I was processed in, I went in search of a treadmill. Sadly the gym has no treadmills! They do have some bicycle machines and some elliptical machines, so I tried out the elliptical, which I don't really care too much for. I think weather permitting I'll just try running outside for my cardio days.

Speaking of the gym our sergeant said we all have to meet at the gym tomorrow on Saturday because two of our guys failed their PT test. Since we are a team we have to go in together. I didn't have anything planned and if we end up playing some basketball it could turn out to be fun.

The day started off pretty slow. The specialist that is training me (I can't keep calling him that…from now on his name is SPC Short) came in very late. He had to help out with a PT test I think. So during this whole time I just sat and read the newspaper at his desk.

The day was pretty slow. I was able to finish some online required training to get setup on the computer systems in the office. I was also able to turn in all my TA (tuition assistance) paperwork at the education office as well. I am now in the system and ready to start school. I should have a counselor contacting me within a week or two to get started. I can't wait, this has been a goal of mine for years and I have put it off for a long long time.

I had to find out a little more about the KATUSA today because I wasn't quite exactly sure how exactly they work out. A KATUSA is a Korean national that is in the ROK (Republic of Korea) army. It stands for Korean Augmentation Troops to the United States Army. They volunteer to be a KATUSA. I guess they have to take a test on their English and receive a minimum score in order to volunteer. All the volunteers are put in a database and chosen at random according to a ROK soldier I was talking to. A KATUSA helps out the US Army, they wear ACUs but with a Korean flag, and they report to the US commanders. Even though they report to the US commanders, they still attend ROK meetings and such. All Korean males have to serve in the military for two years and being a KATUSA serves this purpose as well. Our KATUSA seems like a nice kid. He's 22 and actually went to Ohio State University for his schooling. He works his butt off too!

The 11B (infantry) people stationed here at Yongsan started a drill today. They surrounded our office building with razor wire and closed most of the entrances and exits to get to the office. They setup a perimeter and then stood guard and checked everyone's IDs and bags. There are hummers and machine guns setup and they are all in full battle rattle. I saw them eating MREs for lunch. I heard they are going to do this for 24 hours straight. That sucks for them! It was raining when I left the office. They also closed a number of gates around the base for the drill, so traffic was pretty heavy trying to get to the couple of gates that were open.

The other specialist in our group (let's call him Special K) took our sergeant to a doctor's appointment today, but forgot to pick him back up. So at the end of the day the sergeant had him do some push-ups in the office…that was pretty funny. Special K is 40, so out of the junior soldiers I'm not the oldest! I was then given my first safety brief in my new unit. It consisted of SPC Short telling us to be careful this weekend especially if going off post. He made sure we all had each other's numbers in case something happened. Our sergeant then told the specialists to recite the NCO's creed. Then all four of us had to sing the army song and recite the soldier's creed. We didn't sound too good singing the song, so he had us do it again. The same thing happened with the soldier's creed…lol.

Now I'm at the food court using the free wifi before heading over to the movie theatre to watch The Tourist. Love that the movies here are free!!!!