LA = Success

Alegria...the Cirque Du Soleil show that I'll see in a week

Seagull..duh!

Surfers in the fog

More surfing in the fog

Carson and our surfboards

El Porto...where we surfed

My time in LA was pretty good! I actually arrived two days prior to the start of the conference...thanks to whoever booked my ticket! Here's what I did:
-Spent time with my friend Carson
-Went to the beach 4 of the 5 days I was there: Venice Beach, Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach
-Surfed for 1 day at El Porto
* I managed to slice my entire right hand open on the surfboard. Had to get bandaged up by the lifeguard as it was a bloody mess. I stayed out of the water for a while because I did not want to become shark bait =) I know, a bit paranoid.
-Ate Olive Garden twice, Panera Bread Co once, BBQ once, Mexican once, and plenty of other good food
-Met some great folks at the conference and learned plenty of new information
-Drank a bottle of Chimay my last night there while I packed

Those were the highlights...if you want to call them that. I'm also working at perfecting the art of talking to strangers. Often times I find myself runnin' around solo, so I figure it's time to venture out of my comfort zone a little bit more, which means striking up random conversations. So I was sitting at the hotel bar one night next to an Australian guy. I said hey, asked what he was doing in LA. Bad move!!!! I regret striking up this conversation, but oh well it was rather funny. The guy was drunk and he talked for nearly 30 minutes and the only two words that I knew for sure that he was saying was the word that rhymes with hunt, but starts with a "c" and the f-bomb. It was quite amusing, but after 30 minutes I'd had enough, so I parted by saying his favorite word, rhymes with hunt, starts with "c" and went and sat on the other side of the bar. Trying to understand a drunk Australian takes too much effort. While in the Tokyo airport I was eating some tasty ramen...I recommended it to some lady walking by, she got some and liked it. After she finished eating she stopped by my table and gave me a pack of M&M's...what a pleasant surprise and a great dessert!

Well, I'm back in Korea. I have 6 weeks until Christmas break (3 weeks off). I have one small trip planned for the end of November. For Halloween I'm attending some party in Seoul, but I have no idea what I'm going to go as. I thought about going as a swimmer and just wearing a Speedo...that'll give people something funny to look at. Next weekend I'm going to see Cirque Du Soleil...flippin excited about that.

LA Here I Come!

This upcoming Thursday I'm headed back to the States for yet another conference. It's kind of nice racking up thousands of frequent flyer miles!! I'll be arriving in LA on Thursday morning and will be leaving Tuesday morning, so I'll have a significant chunk of time to enjoy the luxuries of the States. My agenda for LA is much like that of Seattle:
1) Attend conference and hopefully learn something new
2) Do a bit of shopping for things that are difficult to find here. I'm on the hunt for quality dress socks. Kind of silly I know. I will be checking in one bag on the way there, but two bags on the way back and that second bag will be filled with FOOD!!!!
3) Eat as much American food as possible and fill my belly with quality microbrews. Although I did find a place in Itaewon that has a Canadian microbrew, which is REALLY good. I think I gained five pounds from my trip to Seattle, but that's okay b/c I've lost more than that since I've been in Korea.

My buddy Carson Swisher, C-Luv to those in the music and film industry, wins the All-Star Friend Award. This award is something brand new. He bought a plane ticket 3 days ago to come visit me in LA. So we plan on running around together and if time allows hit up the ocean for a bit of surfing...sweet!!

Other exciting news...none really =) I bought a mattress pad yesterday. It only took me 11 weeks to buy one...should have bought one 11 weeks ago. It makes a world of difference. My bed has gone from uncomfortable to only mildly uncomfortable =) I went hiking today. There is a mountain aka hill (there is no distinction in the Korean language) right across the street from my apartment. I found a great trail running route with some lung and quad busting climbs. My arse will be getting kicked on this route for a while! =) I came down with my first Korean cold probably due to my lack of sleep. So far it's not as bad as my American colds. Oh, here is some big news. I sent in my absentee ballot on Friday. I voted for President, a couple tax proposals in Liberty, MO and for Governor. I didn't vote for a lot of other positions b/c I didn't know much about those running. I figure I'd better not vote for those positions, rather than make an uninformed vote...I think that's good rationale. Will Pryor will be receiving at least one vote for Missouri Governor as he was my write-in candidate...go Will Pryor!!!! I got your back! You own me a beer for that!

HIMYM

Tonight I finished catching up on Season 4 (current season) of "How I Met Your Mother." "Intervention" was the title of the last one. Despite the show being AWESOME I feel like I can relate to that group of friends and I see that group as being similar to the group of friends that I left behind when I came overseas. I especially connected with this last episode (episode 4) where so much change is going on in everyone's lives and they are in a position where they can continue holding onto the lives they've had the past few years, or move on in life and embrace the changes that are ahead of them. At one point there is panic among all of them where they are frantic to hold on to the past, to the normal, to the comfortable lives to which they've become accustomed. What I liked about this episode was the end where they all embraced the changes going on their respective lives, and met up one year later at their bar to reconnect, to reminisce, and to continue moving on with their lives. I've been out of the country for about 11 weeks now. The "honeymoon" period is over. The glamour of moving overseas is over. The reality of what/who I left back home stares at me each day. I do hope that when I return to the states this summer, that my close group of friends and I return to our favorite bar(s) and enjoy some good beer and laughs together and we experience more fully the joys of our friendships. I look forward to seeing you all at The Flying Saucer, The Cashew, or Charlie Hoopers!!

Suit Up!!

Warming up!

Watch out everyone, the foreigners are out tonight!

Embarrassing but funny! Like I said, I'm a dancing machine here, but by no means a good dancer.

This past Friday night, some buddies and I decided we'd go to the "Shampoo Night Club." There was no shampoo there, but there were many other interesting things...maybe I'll get to those. Anyways, we decided for that night that we would be business men because when you're well-dressed here you are definitely treated better. This night called for us to "Suit Up!" Four of the six guys when and bought a suit, one guy already had one, and then there was me...no suit and I wasn't going to go buy one to wear for an evening. So no suit for me, but a vest did the trick...kind of...I did stand out as you'll see in the pictures...oh well...I looked like I left my jacket behind. The club was a mixture of a large open venue with tables and a dance floor and then private rooms surrounding the entire club. Since we were "businessmen" and made a lot of money we paid for a room, but spent plenty of time out on the dance floor. The night turned out to be a hit. We danced and noraebonged (karaoke) till 5 in the morning. I am a dancing machine here in Korea, but still not a good dancer =)

Korean Festival

The Festival

Part of the fortress

I don't know what this is...

Another part of the fortress

Kid on panda bear


For the past few weeks I haven't been experiencing as much culture as I had planned, so this past Saturday I ventured out to experience some Korean culture at a festival at Hwaseong Fortress. And this is what I encountered...Koreans girls in skimpy outfits and playing fake instruments...can't get much better than this. Check out the keyboard solo!!